STEPHEN  Bo  WEEKS 

CLASS  OF1886;PH.D.  THE  JOHNS  HOPKINS  UNIVERSITY 


OF  THE 

roFNunn 

THE  WEEKS  COLffiOTON 


C917 
G79r 


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be  taken  from  the 
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Form  No.  471 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


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'/ 


RECOLLECTIONS 


INHABITANTS,  LOCALITIES,  SUPERSTITIONS, 


KUKLUX  OUTRAGES 


OP  THE  CAROLINAS. 


CARPET-BAGGER'' 


TVHO  WAS  BORN  AND 
LIVED  THERE. 


1880. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1880,  in  the  office  of  the 
Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


TO   THE 

CAKPET-BAGGEES  OF  THE  SOUTH: 

those  unswerving  republicans 

to  whose  fidelity  and  sagacity  the  people  of  the  united 

states  aee  indebted  fop  the  successful 

consummation  of  the 

reconstruction  of  the  south, 

this  unpretentious  volume  is  respectfully 
dedicated,  by 

The  Author. 


TO  THE  PUBLIC. 


The  following  work  possesses  the  merit  of  truthfulness,  what- 
ever else  may  be  said!  of  it.  We  make  no  apology  for  its  appear- 
ance or  its  contents.  We  believe  some  things  pertaining  to  the 
people  of  the  South  and  its  peculiar  customs  and  prejudices,  not 
to  be  found  in  any  other  work,  are  to  be  found  in  this.  If  it 
shall  add  to  the  general  stock  of  information,  our  highest  hopes 
and  expectations  shall  have  been  realized. 

The  Author. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

General  Introduction. — Description  of  a  Southern  Village. — 
Our  Beasts  of  Burden  and  Vehicles. — "First  Mondays." — A 
Humorous  Incident. 

CHAPTER  II. 

Prosecuting  the  Journey. — Beauties  of  Nature  Strewn  Around 
Us. — The  Guide  Post. — The  Irishman's  Mistake. — Brown  goes 
"To  See  a  Man."— The  Old  Mill  Pond.— Just  the  Place  for  Dark 
Deeds. — Legends  connected  with  it. — Union  Soldiers. — Murdered 
Victims. — Story  of  Henry  Woods. — His  Guilty  Love  and  its 
Fatal  Determination. — Matrimony  among  the  Plantation  Hands 
of  the  South. — Wasted  Power. — Mistaken  Policy  of  Southern  Pro- 
ducers.— What  Judge  — — -  said. 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  Old  Church  and  School  House.— Reflections  on  their  Style 
of  Architecture. — The  Forgotten  Dead. — Superstitious  Dread  of 
Ghosts  on  the  part  of  the  Inhabitants. — Witchcraft  and  Conjura- 
tion— Peculiar  Antics  of  a  Pretended  Conjurer. — His  Legal  Com- 
plications and  Happy  Deliverance. — Despondency  and  Gloom 
occasioned  by  a  Belief  in  the  same. — Ignorance  the  Cause  of  these 
Superstitious  Beliefs. — Its  Existence  in  Germany,  England,  and 
New  England  in  the  Past. — Day  beginning  to  Dawn  in  the  South. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Oriole. — Its  Appearance,  Population,  etc. — Edward  Hill,  our 
Host. — Some  Account  of  his  Early  Life  and  Subsequent  Career. — 
Labor  and  Perseverance  Conquers  All. — Sacrifice  of  Principle 
Essential   to  Success  in  the  South  Then  as  Now. — Our  Repast. — 


6 

The  Menu. — "Collards." — Moral  Status  of  the  Denizens  of  Oriole. 
— Brown's  Opinion :  "  It  is  Worse  than  New  York." — Reminis- 
cence of  a  Former  Visit  to  This  Place. — Reflections  on  the  Treat- 
ment of  Colored  People  in  all  parts  of  the  South. 

CHAPTER  V. 

Lowlands  of  the  Carolinas. — Spring  Freshets. — Famine  Threat- 
ened.— Mail  Carrier  Up  a  Tree, — Unhealthy  Localities. — Rice 
Culture. — Sufferings  of  Hands. — The  Great  Dismal  Swamp. — 
Appearance  and  Extent. — The  Rohber's  Stronghold. — Henry  Berry 
Lowrie. — He  Defies  the  Militia  of  a  Whole  State. — His  Audacious 
Bearing. — A  Confrere  Hung. — Lowrie  is  Wounded  and  finally 
Killed. — The  Fugitive's  Retreat — Uncle  Pompey's  Experience. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Bell  Homestead. — Accommodations  for  the  Night. — The 
Black  Cat. — My  Wife  Alarmed. — An  Unfortunate  Throw,  and 
Alarm  of  the  Family. — Mine  Host  Jones  and  the  Writer  Adjourn 
to  the  Yard. — Snake  Stories. — Snakes  in  the  House;  in  the  Bed; 
in  the  Mill. — Snake  Bites  and  Whiskey  Treatment. — "Coachwhip 
Snake." — Snakes  for  Food. — Medicine  and  Music. — Reminiscences 
of  the  Slaveholding  Era,  by  Jones. — The  Men  and  Women  who 
Cleared  and  Cultivated  these  Lands. — The  Whip. — The  Auction 
Block. — The  Stocks. — Insufficient  Food. — Dawn  of  Day. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Incidents  of  the  Route. — Post  Boxes. — Mineral  Springs. — 
Floral  College. — The  Duello. — Reminiscences  of  School  Life  in 
the  South  Before  the  War. — An  Oasis. — A  Foraging  Expedition. 
— Difference  between  Southern  and  Northern  Hospitality. — Win- 
ning our  Fodder  by  a  Stratagem. — Our  Repast  and  Departure. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

"Fannie"  on  her  metal. — First  Mishap  of  the  Road. — "All's 
Well  that  End's  Well."— The  Deserted  Cotton  Plantation.— Then 
and  Now. — Contributing  Causes. — "Carpet-Bag"  Rule  in  the 
South, — Both  Sides  of  the  Question. — What  the  Writer  saw  in 


South  Carolina. — How  Property-Holdera  Felt.— Characteristic 
Letter. — -Where  did  the  Blame  Lie? — Admission  of  the  Writer  of 
the  Letter. — Land  Commission. — Rail  Road  Bonds. — Private 
Operations. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

The  Camp-Meeting  Ground. — General  Appearance  of  the 
Place. — Jones  Pleased. — Religious  Tendencies  of  the  Colored  Race. 
Are  they  Peculiarities  of  the  Colored  Race,  or  are  they  Begotten 
of  their  Weak  and  Oppressed  Condition  ? — The  Writer's  Views  on 
this  Subject. — Reminiscences  of  a  Camp-Meeting. — Sudden  Pros- 
tration and  Narrow  Escape. — The  Philadelphia  "Mourner." — 
Quotations  from  a  Sermon. — First  Lines  of  some  of  the  Hymns. — 
A  Woman  on  Fire. — Disadvantage  of  Wearing  a  Hoop  Skirt. — 
Hearing  Civilization. 

CHAPTER  X. 

The  Ku-Klux-Klan. — Its  Origin. — Its  Name. — Objects  and 
Deeds  of  Violence.- — Recollections  of  its  Early  Days. — Proofs  of  its 
Existence. — What  Hon.  Reverdy  Johnson  thought  of  its  Members. 
— The  Origin  of  the  Exodus,  and  Probable  Result. 

CHAPTER  XL 

The  Poor  Whites  of  the  South. — Contributing  Causes  of  their 
Present  Condition.— Their  Social  Status ;  Habits  of  Life ;  Meane 
of  Support. — Dislike  of  them  by  the  Colored  People  of  the  South. 
— Struggles  on  the  Part  of  Some  of  Them  to  Better  their  Condi- 
tion.— Remarkable  Instances  of  Success. — Their  Future  in  This 
Country. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Products  of  the  Carolinas. — Cotton. — Turpentine. — Peanuts. — 
Sweet  Potatoes*  etc. — Forest  Fruits. — "  Chincapins." — Hickory- 
nuts. — Persimmons. — -Grape  Culture. — Fishes,  Oysters,  etc. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  Colored  People  of  the  South.— Different  Classes.— The 
Plantation   Hands. — Their   Habits   and   Modes    of    Life. — Corn- 


shucking  and  Log-rolling  Bees. — Their  Love  of  "'Possum  and 
Sweet-en-tater."— Will  they  Steal  ?— The  Colored  People  of  the 
Cities  and  Towns. — General  Intelligence  among  them,  and  Causes 
Contributing  Thereto. — Churches  and  Schools  among  them. — 
Efforts  of  Bad  Men  to  Create  Prejudice  between  Different  Classes 
of  them. — Education  and  Wealth  will  Dispel  All. 

CONCLUSION. 
Past  and  Present  of  "  Magnolia." — Sherman's  Boys  and  Har- 
dee.— "  No  Law  to  Compel  One  Man  to  '  Mister '  Another." — The 
Results  of  the  Trip. — Returning  North. 


CHAPTER  I. 


General  Introduction. — Description  of  a  Southern  Village. — 
Our  Beasts  of  Burden  and  Vehicles. — "First  Mondays." — A 
Humorous  Incident. 


The  early  days  of  the  Summer  of  1872  found  three 
fathers,  three  mothers  and  five  children  residing  in  the 
quiet  little  village  of  Hudsonyille,  South  Carolina. 
Driven  by  fate  and  the  results  of  the  recent  great  rebel- 
lion, the  effects  of  which  were  still  agitating  all  that 
section  of  the  Southern  country,  we  had  changed  our 
places  of  abode  in  other  States  and  pitched  our  humble 
tents  in  this  section  of  the  United  States,  with  the 
avowed  intent  of  commencing  life  anew,  and  "making 
up  by  sober,  industrious  effort,  so  far  as  the  ability  lay 
in  us,  for  lost  time."  We  were  all  members  of  that 
much  abused,  but  exceedingly  patient  class,  known  in 
this  country  as  "  colored  people,"  a  term  which  embraces 
all  who  have  within  their  veins  a  single  drop  of  African 
blood,  from  the  sable  brother  who  traces  his  lineal 
ancestors,  on  both  sides,  directly  from  the  banks  of  the 
Congo  and  the  Nubian  plains,  and  boasts  of  his 
unadulterated  blood,  to  the  flaxen -haired  octoroon,  who 
leads  captive   the    heart   of  her   unwary  Anglo-Saxon 


10 

admirer,  that  never  associates  her  in  his  mind  with  any 
member  of  the  "  despised  race." 

Jones,  the  eldest  of  the  three,  was  a  native  South- 
erner, "to  the  manor  born,"  (a  favorite  phrase,  by  the 
way,  in  that  section,)  and  had  left  the  home  of  his 
nativity,  only  sixty  miles  to  the  northeast  of  our  present 
place  of  abode;  in  fact,  having  passed  the  greater  part 
of  his  manhood  as  an  intinerant  carpenter,  he  was  well 
acquainted  not  only  with  every  town  and  hamlet  of  any 
note  in  all  that  region  of  country,  but  he  was  deeply 
versed  in  the  avenues  of  travel  leading  to  them;  which 
was  a  very  important  acquisition  in  a  section  of  country 
where  there  were  no  railroads,  and  where  the  tourist 
was  relegated  to  the  usages  in  vogue  before  the  advent 
of  the  Christian  era.  He  knew  the  names  and  places 
of  residence  of  every  property-holder  of  any  note  as 
well,  and,  had  the  records  and  maps  of  the  country 
been  lost,  I  verily  believe  he  could  have  located  more 
than  one  half  the  farms,  and  given  them  "  metes  and 
bounds "  from  his  retentive  memory,  for  stakes  and 
stones  and  "blazed"  trees  were  as  familiar  to  him  as 
the  ordinary  thoroughfares  of  business  are  to  the 
metropolitan  merchant.  He  could  no  more  part  with 
the  services  of  his  friendly  pipe  than  he  could  with  his 
"better  half,"  and  when  comfortably  ensconced  by  the 
side  of  a  glowing  hickory  fire  on  a  winter's  night,  with 
his  pipe  well  filled,  he  could  "  spin  yarns"  by  the  hour. 


11 

Brown  was  the  junior  of  Jones,  and,  while  he  had 
not  the  same  degree  of  experience  concerning  country 
life,  yet  he  made  it  his  boast  that  he  knew  "  a  thing  or 
two,"  because  he  had  spent  several  years  as  a  resident 
of  that  great  hive  of  industry,  New  York — a  name,  the 
veiy  mention  of  which  to  the  average  rustic  of  the 
South,  causes  his  eyes  to  dilate  like  miniature  saucers 
and  animates  his  curiosity.  Brown  was  impulsive;  he 
preferred  fighting  to  eating;  he  carried  his  revolver  and 
bowie  knife,  and  bore  the  reputation  in  all  that  section 
of  being  "  a  bad  man,"  of  which  epithet,  as  applied  to 
him,  he  was  very  proud. 

Of  the  writer  hereof  but  little  need  be  said,  since  he 
is  to  take  a  very  unimportant  part  in  the  events  which 
shall  be  related — scarcely  more  than  that  of  a  faithiul 
scribe,  who  will  undertake  to  note  down  a  truthful 
account  of  the  events  in  their  regular  order.  Suffice  it 
to  say  then,  that,  while  he  acknowledged  the  "  Old 
North  State'1  (North  Carolina)  as  the  home  of  his 
nativity,  yet,  having  escaped  thence  during  his  tender 
childhood,  shunning  the  baleful  effects  of  that  social 
ulcer,  slavery,  and  seeking  a  health}7  atmosphere,  where 
he  could  grow  to  the  full  stuture  of  manhood,  he  had 
found  that  garden  spot  of  the  whole  earth,  the  noble 
Western  Reserve  of  the  great  State  of  Ohio,  where, 
surrounded  by  kind  friends,  loving  hearts  and  institu- 
tions  of  learning,    he   had   succeeded   in   acquiring   a 


12 

sufficient  store  of  knowledge  to  partially  appreciate  his 
own  infirmities  and  the  necessities  of  his  race,  and  he 
had  now  returned  to  the  Sunny  South  with  a  burning 
zeal  to  do  something  in  his  day  for  the  common  good, 
and  build  up  for  himself  ancf  famil}'  an  honorable  name 
among  the  sons  of  men. 

We  had  not  tarried  long  in  Hudsonville  before  we 
began  to  think  that  we  had  made  a  mistake  in  locating; 
for,  while  this  village  was  quite  noteworthy  in  some 
respects,  yet,  for  men  without  capital,  having  aspirations 
socially  and  financially,  it  was  as  barren  as  a  desert.  A 
court-house,  jail,  post-office,  three  churches,  four  large 
warehouses,  five  stores  and  about  fifty  dwellings, 
scattered  at  irregular  intervals  along  half  a  dozen 
streets  and  accommodating  from  two  hundred  and  fifty 
to  three  hundred  souls,  comprised  the  village.  The 
inhabitants  of  this  little  place  were  composed  almost 
exclusively  of  the  owners  of  the  large  cotton  planta- 
tions, which  lay  on  three  sides  of  it,  and  their  families 
and  dependents,  if  we  except  two  or  three  storekeepers, 
who  supplied  the  wants  of  this  small  community. 
Socially,  they  formed  a  little  literary  coterie,  or  mutual 
admiration  society  among  themselves,  at  whose  doors 
no  "foreigner"  (as  they  significantly  termed  all  persons 
from  the  North)  need  knock.  They  sent  to  Charleston 
for  their  extra  provisions,  drew  their  latest  fashions 
from   Charleston,   and   derived    their    newspapers   and 


13 

general  inspiration  from  the  same  source.  They  had 
heard  of  Calhoun,  Rhett,  Hayne,  Pinckney,  and  other 
states'  rights  champions,  and  worshipped  their  names, 
but  cared  little  for  aught  else;  and,  aside  from  attending 
church  and  rendering  an  occasional  parlor  theatrical, 
they  had  little  amusement.  For  a  colored  person, 
possessing  any  of  those  finer  qualities  of  soul  or 
intellect,  such  as  distinguish  one  from  the  "  ignoble 
herd,"  there  was  no  affiliation,  no  inspiration,  no  life, 
save  such  as  could  be  found  among  the  plantation 
hands,  who,  though  frequently  pure-hearted  and  inno- 
cent in  their  dealings,  were,  nevertheless,  covered  by 
such  a  dark  pall  of  ignorance  and  superstition, 
bequeathed  to  them  by  their  former  taskmasters,  as 
rendered  them  unfit  for  the  ordinary  demands  of 
society.  There  was  no  business  there  for  a  man  without 
a  trade,  or  capital  with  which  to  undertake  some  specu- 
lative enterprise;  and  as  for  the  learned  prolessions, 
such  as  medicine  and  law,  no  one  thought  of  embarking 
in  the  practice  of  either,  unless  his  acquaintance  was 
coextensive  with  the  county  and  his  reserve  fund  consid- 
erable. 

There  were  at  least  twelve  da}rs  in  the  year,  however, 
that  would  have  been  considered  as  exceptions  to  the 
rule  in  Hudsonville;  when  monotony  gave  place  to 
variety,  and  the  appearance  of  the  public  square  was 
altogether  changed.     These  were  the  "  First  Mondays  " 


14 

of  each  and  every  month;  clays  made  famous  in  the 
State  of  South  Carolina  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  the 
sheriffs  of  the  different  counties  were  accustomed  to 
offer  for  sale  at  the  county  seats  such  property  as  fell  to 
their  lot  to  sell,  by  virtue  of  their  official  capactiy. 
There  were  a  class  of  hardy  men  who  made  it  their 
business  to  drive  wagons  over  the  territory  of  that  and 
adjacent  states,  bartering  and  selling  goods,  especially 
tobacco,  horses  and  mules.  They  came,  generally,  from 
the  western  section  of  the  State  of  North  Carolina, 
where  there  are  numerous  tobacco  manufactories  and 
some  live  stock  worthy  of  note.  As  they  progressed 
along  their  route  they  were  in  the  habit  of  selling  to 
persons  remote  from  commercial  centers,  and  when  they 
could  not  obtain  money  for  their  wares  they  would 
barter  them  away  for  such  produce  as  they  could  dispose 
of  in  the  large  towns,  such  as  hides,  corn,  bacon,  flour  and 
the  like.  These  "  wagoners  "  kept  well  posted  regarding 
"  First  Mondays,"  and  they  became  in  the  course  of 
time  to  be  one  of  the  most  prominent  features  of  the 
clay.  They  began  to  arrive  early  in  the  day,  with  dogs 
and  other  animals  hitched  on  behind,  and  as  they 
ranged  themselves  in  semicircular  form  on  the  public 
square  they  presented  quite  a  picturesque  appearance. 
They  were  generally  men  of  much  experience,  and  not 
unfrequently  included  among  their  number  persons  of 
desperate  character,  especially  when  excited  from  the 


15 

effect  of  strong  drink.  Hence  these  days  became  noted 
far  and  wide  as  occasions  of  strife,  and  sometimes 
bloodshed.  On  such  occasions  knives  were  freely  used, 
and  the  revolver  was  an  indispensable  means  of  protec- 
tion. 

As  these  lines  are  being  penned  the  writer  recollects 
an  occasion  when  about  a  dozen  men,  veterans  of  the 
Confederate  army,  were  seated  on  the  side  of  a  hill  in 
close  proximity  to  his  place  of  abode.  They  had 
numerous  bottles  of  brandy  peaches  and  cherries  (the 
sale  of  whisky  and  brandy  in  any  other  form  being  for- 
bidden by  law  on  those  days),  all  of  which  they  greedily 
devoured,  and  speedily  became  intoxicated.  They  then 
recounted  their  deeds  of  valor  upon  the  field  of  battle 
during  the  great  rebellion;  told  how  many  "Yanks" 
they  had  killed,  and  exhibited,  in  one  or  two  instances, 
trinkets  manufactured  from  the  bones  of  our  poor  Union 
soldiers.  After  that  they  boasted  of  the  "niggers"  they 
had  owned  before  the  war,  and  told  how  much  they 
regretted  the  loss  of  them.  It  happened  that  among 
these  men  there  was  one  whose  race  was  not  well 
defined.  He  was  a  peculiar  looking  man — not  exactly 
white,  nor  yet  was  he  sufficiently  dark  to  be  classed 
with  the  colored  people  by  one  not  well  acquainted  with 
him.  He  was  familiarly  known  as  "Colonel."  In  his 
day  Colonel  had  owned  a  few  slaves,  and  to  a  certain 
extent  he  had  affiliated  with  the  white  portion  of  the 


16 

community.  During  this  maudlin  performance  on  the 
part  of  the  men  referred  to,  the  conversation  turned  on 
the  pedigree  of  the  various  members  of  the  party,  and 
each  in  turn  gave  his,  so  far  as  he  could.  Smith  said 
his  ancestors  came  over  direct  from  England  and  landed 
at  Jamestown;  Scott  said  he  could  trace  his  pedigree  to 
the  Scottish  bard  of  the  same  name,  and  he  was  not 
certain  but  that  some  of  the  Burns  family  were  distantly 
related  to  some  of  his  ancestors;  O'Neil  referred  the 
gentleman  to  his  illustrious  Irish  ancfstry,  of  which  he 
seemed  to  be  very  proud;  but,  when  it  came  to  the 
Colonel's  turn  to  speak,  he  was  as  silent  as  the  tomb, 
and  opened  not  his  mouth.  "  Come,  Colonel,"  said 
Smith,  "  none  of  that  now ;  show  up ;  no  dodging." 
"  That's  so,"  they  all  rhymed  in  chorus.  "  Tell  us 
where  you  came  from."  "Well,  gentlemen,"  said  the 
Colonel,  hesitating,"  "  if  I  must  tell  you,  I  believe  I  am 
Portugese."  "  Portugese  Nigger  !"  exclaimed  Smith 
with  much  emphasis,  and  then  there  was  a  general 
laugh,  and  all  took  a  drink  at  the  expense  of  the  blush- 
ing Colonel.  Later  in  the  evening  these  men  mounted 
their  horses  and  rode  violently  through  the  streets  of 
the  village,  yelling  like  wild  Indians,  terrifying  the 
souls  of  timid  women  and  children,  and  concluding  the 
performance  by  cutting  one  of  their  own  number 
severely  with  a  knife.  During  the  early  part  of  this 
same  afternoon  an  incident  of  a  rather  humorous  nature 


17 

took  place,  which  was  characteristic  of  the   men  and 
customs. 

A  young  man  who  had  imbibed  rather  freely,  and 
was  confident  respecting  his  physical  ability,  said  he 
was  a  tinker  and  "spoiling  for  a  fight;"  he  had  chal- 
lenged several  persons  to  a  fight  at  fisticuffs,  and  in  one 
or  two  instances  he  had  even  shaken  his  fist  in  the  faces 
of  men.  He  continued  to  run  around  the  square,  daring 
some  one  to  knock  a  chip  off  of  his  shoulder,  without 
meeting  with  the  slightest  success.  Brown,  one  of  our 
party,  was  at  that  time  keeping  a  grocery  facing  the 
public  square.  The  building  occupied  by  him  was  built 
on  the  side  of  a  hill,  and  the  intervening  depression  in 
front  had  been  filled  with  sawdust;  just  the  place  for 
throwing  somersaults.  Brown  was  very  busy  with  his 
customers,  when  the  young  man  "spoiling  for  a  fight" 
entered  his  store  and  said  "I'm  a  tinker;"  receiving  no 
attention  from  an}-  one,  he  repeated  the  assertion,  "Tru 
a  tinker,  [  am!"  At  that  instant  Brown  turned,  seized 
the  youth  by  the  collar  of  his  coat  and  the  waistband  of 
his  pantaloons,  and  threw  him.  Some  said  the  misguided 
"  tinker"  turned  a  triple  somersault;  that  I  cannot  vouch 
for,  but  this  much  can  truly  be  said:  when  he  came 
down  he  struck  on  his  head,  and  the  last  that  was  seen 
of  him  he  was  sitting  beneath  a  tree,  mopping  his  brow 
and  wiping  the  blood  from  his  nose,  while  he  perchance 
ruminated  in  his  mind  over  the  uncertainties  of  life. 


18 

These  days,  however,  were  few  and  far  between,  and 
could  not  be  relied  upon.  Under  these  circumstances, 
the  aforesaid  trio  were  not  long  in  concluding  to  visit  a 
neighboring  town  of  some  commercial  pretensions,  for 
the  purpose  of  prosecuting  an  investigation  with  a  view 
to  an  ultimate  change  of  our  place  of  residence.  In  this 
section  of  the  country,  those  avenues  of  thrift  and  prog- 
ress, rail  roads,  were  then,  as  now,  little  in  use,  and  as  a 
means  of  conveyance  our  choice  lay  between  walking 
and  buggy  riding;  but  as  the  proposed  route  la}7  thi'ough 
sands  and  rough  lands,  we  were  not  long  in  selecting  the 
latter.  Our  stock  were  not  such  as  to  attract  the  eye  of 
a  connoisseur,  or  even  to  reflect  credit  upon  the  equine 
species  in  that  vicinity,  as  a  slight  description  of  them 
will  readily  prove.  Jones  had  a  little  bay  mare,  of  ner- 
vous temperament,  slightly  over-fed,  and  anxious  to 
exhibit  her  vivacity  to  the  average  observer.  In  short, 
she  would  run  away  whenever  opportunity  offered.  But 
Jones  was  very  proud  of  her,  called  her  Fannie,  and 
made  a  regular  pet  of  her.  Brown  had  a  large  sorrel 
horse,  of  very  angular  appearance,  whose  hip  bones 
were  so  very  prominent  as  to  be  suggestive  of  hat  pins, 
while  his  spinal  column  and  heavy  ribs,  visible  through 
his  losely  fitting  hide,  betokened  a  frame  of  uncommon 
strength  and  powers  of  endurance;  and  notwithstanding 
the  evident  fact  that  he  had  seen  better  days,  he  yet 
retained  a  sufficient  degree  of  his  pristine  vitality  and 


19 

fire  to  paw  the  earth  and  neigh  for  new  scenes  and  fresh 
exploits;  of  which,  I  may  add,  he  was  ere  long  to  have 
an  ample  allowance.  Brown  purchased  this  horse  and 
gave  as  consideration,  five  dollars  in  money,  one  barrel 
of  flour,  and  two  sides  of  salt  dried  bacon.  "  Gentle 
reader,"  you  may  smile  if  3Tou  choose  when  I  tell  you 
this,  but  it  is  a  fact,  nevertheless;  this  unpretentious 
horse,  under  his  master's  judicious  care,  frequently 
traveled  twenty  miles,  to  the  nearest  rail  road  station, 
and  returned  with  fifteen  hundred  pounds  of  merchan- 
dise, between  sunrise  and  sunset  of  the  same  clay;  and 
was  at  times  pitted  against  comparatively  fast  horses 
for  a  race.  The  writer's  horse  was  a  borrowed  one.  He 
was  jet  black,  witn  a  piece  of  his  tail  cut  off;  he  was  not 
what  might  be  called  a  fast  horse — on  the  contrary  he 
was  quite  slow  in  his  movements,  and  needed  constant 
prodding  to  keep  him  in  motion;  and  had  such  a  care- 
worn, discouraged,  heart-broken  look  about  his  counten- 
ance, as  would  almost  melt  a  heart  of  stone,  and  cause 
an  over  anxious  driver  to  relent.  Such,  then,  were  our 
horses;  and  our  vehicles  were  scarcely  more  pretentious. 
They  were  not  models  of  beauty  nor  yet  even  fair  speci- 
mens of  art;  since  they  were  minus  tops,  had  low  backs, 
and  the  one  in  which  the  writer  and  his  family  traveled 
would  not  "  track "'  with  the  others  by  several  inches. 
However,  they  were  the  best  that  could  be  obtained  in 
that  section  for  love  or  money ;  and,  making  a  virtue  of 


20 

necessit}',  we  refrained  from  grumbling  and  faultfinding, 
and  began  to  prepare  for  our  journey.  The  first  thing 
provided  was  provender  for  the  horses,  an  article  quite 
scarce  in  that  village  and  hence  very  highly  prized.  We 
filled  sacks  with  corn,  placed  them  under  the  seats,  and 
tied  on  numerous  bundles  of  fodder  behind;  rilled  our 
baskets  with  food  and  our  flasks  with  liquids  for  the 
compan_y;  the  little  ones  were  stowed  away  in  safe 
places,  and  our  positions  taken  on  the  seats.  Thus 
equipped  and  mounted,  we  turned  our  backs  for  the  time 
upon  old  Hudson ville,  jubilant  at  the  thought  that  for  a 
short  space  at  least  we  should  be  relieved  of  the  fatigu- 
ing monotony  which  seemed  to  be  crushing  out  all  our 
former  vigor, — that  we  should  escape  from  the  scornful 
glances,  the  sneers  and  intolerable  oppressions  which 
inevitably  go  hand  in  hand  with  caste  proscription; 
albeit,  those  who  champion  the  system  are  self-consti- 
tuted autocrats,  and  in  any  well-regulated  community, 
having  merit  as  its  standard  of  distinction,  would  not 
attain  to  mediocrity.  While  such  thoughts  as  the  fore- 
going flit  through  the  mind,  we  cross  the  corporate  lim- 
its, descend  a  slight  knoll  into  a  pleasant  little  valley, 
lose  sight  of  the  spires  of  the  churches,  and  are  well 
started  on  our  journey. 


CHAPTER  If. 


Prosecuting  the  Journey. — Beauties  of  Nature  Strewn  Around 
Us. — The  Guide  Post. — The  Irishman's  Mistake. — Brown  goes 
"  To  See  a  Man."— The  Old  Mill  Pond.— Just  the  Place  for  Dark 
Deeds. — Legends  connected  with  it. — Union  Soldiers. — Murdered 
Victims. — Story  of  Henry  Woods. — His  Guilty  Love  and  its 
Fatal  Determination. — Matrimony  among  the  Plantation  Hands 
of  the  South. — Wasted  Power. — Mistaken  Policy  of  Southern  Pro- 
ducers.— What  Judge  said. 


Once  relieved  from  the  restraints  imposed  upon  us 
by  municipal  regulations,  and  stimulated  by  the  cheer- 
ing surroundings,  our  little  party  gave  itself  up  to  the 
pleasures  of  Hie  hour;  the  elder  ones  of  us  sang  and 
cheered,  while  the  little  ones  made  the  welkin  ring  with 
shouts  of  merry  laughter,  and  sustained  their  reputation 
of  being  "  little  chatterboxes."  And  well  might  we 
rejoice;  for  a  scene  was  spread  out  around  and  before 
us  almost  surpassing  belief;  a  scene  from  the  laboratory 
of  nature;  such  as  no  pen  can  depict  or  pencil  sketch. 
The  forests  clothed  in  their  newest  garments  and  be- 
decked with  vernal  flowers,  were  more  inviting  than 
ever;  primroses  blushed  back  at  May  flowers,  while 
violets  drooped  their  modest  heads  and  each  vied  with 
the  other  in  scattering  sweet  fragrance  on  the  balmy 
air.       The    feathered    songsters,    resplendent    in   their 


22 

recent  plumage,  drew  inspiration  from  the  scene  and 
piped  forth  their  melodious  lays  of  gratitude  and 
thanksgiving;  while  the  frisky  little  squirrels,  leaping 
from  limb  to  limb,  glanced  sidewise  at  us  and  ran 
athwart  our  track  as  if  to  challenge  us  to  a  little  game 
of  hide-and-go  seek,  in  which  they  were  sure  to  be  the 
victors.  Little  Johnnie  was  desirous  of  having  a  bouquet 
of  "  boo  lowers,"  as  he  termed  pretty  flowers,  and  his 
wish  was  gratified:  Alice,  Jones'  eldest  daughter, 
thought  if  she  had  one  of  those  little  squirrels,  she 
would  have  attained  to  the  acme  of  her  ambition :  while 
Lulu  was  informed  that  the  only  practical  way  to  gain 
possession  of  one  of  those  little  red  birds  was  to  drop  a 
little  salt  on  its  tail.  And  thus  we  held  our  course 
onward  as  rapidly  as  we  could  under  the  circumstances, 
the  male  portion  of  the  family  walking  in  the  meantime 
to  assist  the  horses  through  the  accumulating  sands, 
when  suddenly  we  came  to  where  the  road  forked,  and 
there  very  demurely  stood  a  guide  (?)  post,  with  one 
solitary  hand,  pointing  in  an  equivocal  direction. 
"What's  that,  cousin  Henry?"  said  my  better  half. 
"That,  cousin,  is  a  guide  post,"  he  replied.  "A  guide 
post!  guide  to  what?  it  has  only  one  index,  and  that  is 
apparently  pointing  to  the  woods  over  there."  "Well," 
said  cousin  Henry,  "  for  that  matter,  it  would  have  been 
just  as  well  if  it  never  had  any,  for  at  the  time  it  was 
put  up  there  were  only  few  in  this  part  of  tlie  country 


23 

who  could  read  the  inscription  on  it.  The  colored  peo- 
ple were  prohibited  by  law  from  learning  to  read,  the 
poor  class  of  white  people  had  no  provision  made  for 
them,  and  the  rich  ones  very  seldom  needed  a  guide 
post."  The  writer  suggested  that  it  was  put  there  to 
commemorate  some  important  event  in  the  history  of 
the  neighborhood;  and  this  suggestion  drew  forth  the 
well-known  story,  related  by  our  ancestors,  of  the  Irish- 
man, fresh  from  the  mother  country,  who,  while  travel- 
ing in  the  Granite  State,  approached  a  guide  post  which 
bore  the  inscription  "40  miles  to  Manchester."  It  is 
said  that  Patrick  was  greatly  perplexed  to  fathom  the 
meaning  of  the  inscription:  he  took  off  his  hat  and 
scratched  his  head,  and  finally,  after  intently  gazing 
upon  it  for  a  brief  space  with  an  expression  of  counte- 
nance indicative  of  great  anxiety,  he  audibly  solilo- 
quized: "Fahrty  miles  the  man  chased  her!  be  me  sowl 
I  cud  av  ketched  her  in  tin."  Brown,  however,  who 
during  the  relation  of  the  foregoing  anecdote  had  been 
scrutinizing  a  little  clump  of  trees  in  the  direction  indi- 
cated by  the  index  on  the  guide  post,  just  then  surprised 
us  all  by  exclaiming:  "Ladies  and  gentlemen,  please 
excuse  me  tor  a  moment  while  I  go  to  jron  shanty  and 
see  a  man."  And  without  further  parley  he  took  leave 
of  us,  not  even  awaiting  our  answer  or  interrogatory  as 
to  whether  he  would  have  company.  Another  moment 
exposed    to    full   view   a   little   groggery   here    in    this 


24 

isolated  place,  to  entrap  the  unwary  traveler  and 
contribute  toward  his  fail.  The  lone  index  on  the 
post  pointing  to  the  grove  was  explained;  all  was  plain 
now.  We  were  mistaken  in  supposing  it  to  be  a  guide 
post;  it  was  the  dram  seller's  signal  to  the  road  to  per- 
dition. Brown  shortly  overtook  the  remainder  of  the 
party;  he  was  a  changed  man,  for  whereas  before  he  left 
us  he  was  stupidly  dull,  his  eyes  now  sparkled  with 
merriment,  and  instead  of  being  demure  and  solemn  he 
was  now  garrulous,  and  had  even  began  to  compare  the 
old  rail  fence  on  the  side  of  the  road  to  a  rustic  struc- 
ture which  he  had  seen  in  Central  Park,  New  York, 
when  his  narrative  was  fortunately  cut  short  by  "Cousin 
Henry"  (as  we  familiarly  called  Jones)  exclaiming, 
"Cousin  John,"  (meaning  the  writer)  "do  you  see  that 
mill-pond  over  there?"  I  assured  him  in  most  positive 
terms  that  I  did.  "Well,  that  is  Hunt's  mill  pond,  that 
you  have  heard  me  talk  so  much  about.  I  want  you  to 
take  a  good  look  at  it  as  we  go  by,  because  there  are  a 
good  many  hard  stories  told  about  it,  and  most  of  them 
are  true,  too." 

In  truth  I  scarcely  needed  the  injunction  to  "  take  a 
good  look  at  it,"  for  it  was  such  a  place  as  was  well 
calculated  to  challenge  the  attention  of  any  traveler, 
and  even  as  he  spoke  we  approached  the  rude  bridge 
over  the  race,  which  gave  forth  deep  intonations  beneath 
the  horses'  hoofs  and  wagon  wheels  in  perfect  keeping 


2o 

with  the  surrounding  scenery.  Overhanging  the  margin 
of  one  segment  of  this  pond  were  gloomy  cypress  trees, 
and  beneath  these  an  almost  impenetrable  jungle  of 
whortleberry  bushes,  reeds  and  rushes,  fit  abode  for 
beasts  of  pre}'  and  poisonous  reptiles.  Added  to  this 
was  the  deafening  roar  of  the  waters,  rushing  wildly 
through  the  race,  and  reverberating  through  the  for- 
est; all  of  which  made  up  a  scene  well  suited  for  deeds 
of  violence  and  bloodshed.  "  During  the  war,  cousin 
John,"  spake  Jones,  "  there  were  more  than  one  poor 
union  soldier  killed  and  thrown  into  this  pond,  and  if  the 
bottom  could  be  raked,  }-ou  would  find  man}'  a  human 
skeleton  buried  in  the  mud.''  "  Why  do  you  say  that, 
cousin  Henry?  did  you  take  any  part  in  the  transactions?" 
I  asked.  "  No,  but  these  things  were  talked  about  and 
general^  understood;  and  the  people  hereabouts  don't 
hesitate  to  admit  it.  I  remember  hearing  old  Colonel 
Hull  tell  of  a  union  soldier  that  escaped  from  his  com- 
mand one  night;  he  was  sick  and  could  not  go  very  fast, 
and  so,  when  the  alarm  was  given  that  a  man  had  escaped, 
and  they  put  bloodhounds  on  his  track,  he  was  easily 
captured.  One  of  the  part}'  asked  the  Colonel  what  was 
done  with  the  soldier;  but  he  got  for  an  answer  only  a 
smile  and  a  wink  as  the  Colonel  pointed  over  his  shoul- 
der in  the  direction  of  Hunt's  mill-pond. 

"About  three  years  ago,"  he  continued,  "a  peddler's 
pack  was  found  in  that  thicket  over  there," — pointing 


26 

to  a  suggestive  looking  jungle  on  the  margin  of  the 
pond.  "It  had  been  rifled  of  its  contents;  near  it  lay 
an  old  leathern  wallet,  containing  nothing  of  value,  and 
only  a  few  feet  further  off  was  found  a  heavy,  club- 
shaped  piece  of  wood,  blood-stained,  with  a  few  hairs 
sticking  to  it.  What  became  of  the  body  no  one  has 
ever  answered,  but  if  that  old  mill-pond  could  talk,  I 
think  it  could  tell  something  about  it. 

"  But  the  strangest  transactisn  that  ever  took  place 
in  connection  with  this  pond,  so  far  as  I  have  any 
knowledge,  was  the  murder  of  a  woman  by  one  Henry 
Woods,  who  was  hung  in  Hudsonville  last  summer." 

"  What  was  that  ?  "  I  asked. 

"Well,  to  give  you  a  full  understanding  of  the  occur- 
rence, I  must  go  back  a  little. 

"  You  see,"  he  continued,  "  during  the  days  of  slavery 
it  was  not  considered  a  very  serious  offence  for  a  slave 
to  have  more  than  one  wife;  and  while  a  few  of  the  more 
conscientious  owners,  in  some  instances  seemed  to  dis- 
courage it,  by  far  the  greater  number  not  only  winked 
at  it,  but  actually  encouraged  what  might  have  been 
mistaken  for  one  phaze  of  the  religion  of  the  '  latter  day 
saints.'  The  result  was  a  polygamous  state  of  society 
in  existence  among  the  slaves;  and  on  many  of  the  most 
populous  plantations,  husbandless  wives  and  fatherless 
children.  In  fact,  even  those  who  went  through  the 
form  of  a  marriage  ceremony  were  told  that  it  was  not 


27 

binding  on  them,  and  so  thoroughly  convinced  were  they 
of  the  truth  of  this  statement  that  after  freedom  came 
they  were  remarried  by  hundreds  and  thousands;  indeed 
Rev.  Mr.  Moore,  of  Darlington,  did  nothing  else  for 
several  weeks  than  go  around  and  marry  these  emanci- 
pated people.  And  a  strange  sight  it  was  too,  cousin 
John,  to  see  parents  who  had  grown-up  children,  some 
of  them  grand-children,  old  gray  haired  men  and  women 
who  had  climbed  the  hill  together  for  more  than  half  a 
century  in  some  instances,  where  their  owners  were  kind 
and  would  not  separate  them,  come  to  the  matrimonial 
altar,  renew  their  vows,  clasp  each  other  in  their  free 
arms,  and  shout  glory  hallelujah  to  the  Lord  who  had 
delivered  them  out  of  bondage  and  permitted  them  to 
see  the  glorious  light  of  liberty. 

"Owing  to  the  early  training  that  these  people  had 
received,1'  he  continued,  "there  were  a  great  many  who 
after  they  gained  their  liberty  refused  to  fall  in  with  the 
new  order  of  things,  and  continued  to  follow  the  old 
fashion  of  having  more  than  one  wife.  Such  a  man  was 
Henry  Woods.  He  had  a  very  nice  woman  for  a  wife, 
who  was  intelligent,  industrious  and  kind;  she  was  the 
mother  of  a  bright-eyed  little  child  which  he  acknowl- 
edged as  his  own,  and  Henry  really  loved  them  both. 
But,  for  some  inexplicable  cause,  he  could  not  make  up 
his  mind  to  forsake  another  woman  with  whom  he  had 
been  more  than  intimate  for  several  years,  notwithstand- 


23 

ing  his  seeming  desire  to  do  so.  His  wife  chided  him; 
the  neighbors  upbraided;  his  own  conscience  told  him  it 
was  wrong,  but  still  he  persisted  in  his  course.  Finally 
his  wife  told  him  she  would  not  live  with  him  any 
longer  unless  he  quit  Lucy,  his  paramour.  Then  Henry 
became  desperate;  he  went  to  Luc3^  and  tried  to  per- 
suade her  to  let  him  alone,  but  as  she  would  not  consent 
he  let  the  matter  drop  and  said  no  more  on  the  subject. 
And  so  the  matter  rested,  and  had  almost  escaped  the 
attention  of  every  one,  until  one  day  a  man  ploughing 
on  the  other  side  of  this  pond,  smelled  an  obnoxious 
odor,  and  upon  investigation  lound  the  partially  decom- 
posed remains  of  a  colored  woman.  The  corpse  was 
identified  as  the  body  of  Lucy,  who  had  previously  been 
missed,  but  as  the  process  of  decomposition  was  far 
advanced  and  the  stench  was  almost  intolerable,  it  was 
difficult  to  persuade  any  one  to  handle  it,  and  it  was 
finally  placed  in  a  rude  box  and  buried  without  examin- 
ation. 

"The  affair  had  been  nearly  forgotten,  when,  the 
attention  of  the  coroner  being  called  to  it,  he  caused 
the  body  to  be  disinterred  and  examined.  It  was 
found,  upon  examination,  that  the  woman  was  the 
victim  of  foul  pla}',  and  had  been  inhumanly  murdered 
by  some  unknown  felon,  who,  for  aught  that  was  known, 
was  even  then  at  large  in  their  very  midst.  Suspicion 
pointed    at    once    toward   Henry   Woods,    her    former 


29 

"friend,"  as  being  the  guilty  party;  and,  as  is  generally 
the  case,  the  discovery  of  one  fact  led  to  others.  It  was 
ascertained  that  about  ten  days- previous  to  the  discovery 
of  the  body  a  loud  shriek  had  startled  several  persons 
residing  in  the  vicinity  of  the  pond,  but  as  no  adequate 
cause  therefor  was  discovered  the  matter  was  dismissed 
from  their  minds  and  shortly  forgotten.  One  of  the 
neighbors  also  recalled  the  fact  that  at  or  about  the 
same  time,  when  traveling  along  the  road  near  the  pond, 
he  saw  Henry  standing  in  a  suspicious  manner  amongst 
the  under  brush,  and  that  he,  when  accosted,  answered 
evasively.  And  then  every  one  remembered  that  Henry 
had  worn  a  downcast,  guilty  look  upon  his  countenance 
for  a  week  or  more,  and  had  not  borne  himself  in  his 
usual  manner.  All  these  things  contributed  to  produce 
in  the  mind  of  every  one  the  conviction  that  Henry 
Woods  had  indeed  murdered  Lucy  Hall,  his  mistress. 
The  result  was  the  arrest  and  incarceration  of  Henry, 
who  firmly  and  persistently  protested  his  innocence,  and 
denied  all  knowledge  of  the  circumstances  surrounding 
the  tragedy.  The  body  of  Lucy,  when  examined,  pre- 
sented not  only  several  contused  wounds  and  abrasions 
of  the  skin,  but,  in  addition  to  all  these,  there  were 
numerous  little  gashes  covering  the  scalp,  wearing  the 
appearance  of  having  been  made  by  the  corner  of  a 
hatchet,  or  some  tool  having  a  blunt  edge,  while  there 
was  a  total  absence  of  one  arm,  for  which  no  one  could 


30 

account.  The  bruises  and  cuts  were  easily  accounted 
for  upon  general  principles,  but  the  absence  of  the  arm 
was  a  matter  that  excited  the  curiosity  of  all. 

"The  jail  in  which  Henry  was  confined  was  a  typical 
Southern  jail,  contracted  in  its  dimensions,  poorly  ven- 
tilated, and  filthy  beyond  all  reason.  The  atmosphere 
of  this  institution  was  impregnated  with  foul  odors, 
which  emanated  from  the  stagnant  fluids  contained  in 
slop-pails,  that  stood  around  lacking  attention,  and  of 
vermin  there  was  no  limit.  The  walls  of  his  cell  were 
covered  with  sheet  iron,  while  a  bundle  of  rags  in  one 
corner  of  the  room  answered  the  purpose  of  a  bed.  His 
food  was  the  proverbial  corn  bread  and  fat  bacon. 
When  occasional  deliveries  of  this  jail  took  place,  the 
prisoners  had  only  to  escape  to  a  swamp  in  the  rear  of 
the  building  and  their  freedom  was  secured,  for  the  old 
sheriff  made  no  effort  to  pursue  them  be}7ond  the  mar- 
gin, where  he  would  discharge  his  fowling-piece  and  beat 
a  hast}'  retreat.  At  length  the  trial  of  Henry  took 
place,  and  his  innocent  wife,  who  had  in  the  meantime 
been  arrested  also,  as  particeps  criminis,  and  lodged  in 
jail  with  him,  was  compelled  to  bear  a  portion  of  his 
disgrace  and  sufferings.  Henry  was  convicted  of  mur- 
der, but  his  wife  was  set  free  without  day.  Alter  he 
had  received  the  sentence  of  death,  he  dismissed  all 
hope  of  pardon  on  this  side  of  the  grave,  made  a  com- 
plete confession  of  the  crime,  and  sought  the  services  of 


31 

a  minister  of  the  gospel.  He  never  did,  however, 
account  for  the  missing  arm,  concerning  which  there 
were  two  theories  in  vogue;  one  of  which  was  that  when 
the  woman  was  pushed  into  the  water  and  drowned,  as 
Henry  had  confessed,  the  arm  was  chopped  off  b}T  her 
murderer  while  clinging  to  the  log  upon  which  he  stood; 
but  the  other  theory,  which  was  the  favorite  one  among 
the  colored  people,  was  that  after  being  cast  into  the 
pond,  an  alligator,  or  some  other  monstrous  reptile,  had 
torn  the  limb  from  the  body,  as  the  mangled  stump 
seemed  to  indicate. 

"  Hangman's  day  was  a  gala  da}7  in  the  South  then 
as  now,"  he  continued ;  "  and  the  day  on  which  Henry 
Woods  was  executed  was  no  exception  to  the  rule. 
Long  before  the  hour  appointed  for  the  execution,  people 
of  all  colors,  ages  and  conditions  began  to  flock  to  the 
scene  of  the  sad  event,  which  was  the  Public  Square  of 
Hudsonville.  Young  and  old,  large  and  small,  rich  and 
poor,  the  vigorous  and  decrepit  all  came — in  wagons  and 
buggies,  on  horseback  and  afoot,  they  crowded  the  roads 
leading  to  the  village.  It  seemed  as  though  all  the 
plantations  and  hamlets  within  a  radius  of  twenty  miles 
had  poured  out  their  inhabitants  and  sent  them  forth 
on  one  grand  holiday  excursion.  They  filled  all  the 
vacant  space  within  the  bounds  of  the  Public  Square, 
they  crowded  the  stores  and  dwelling-houses,  and  even 
the  neighboring  house   and  tree-tops  were  made  to  do 


82 

service  on  this  occasion.  Those  inseperable  attendants 
of  holiday  assemblages,  circusses  and  camp  meetings  in 
the  South — the  gingerbread,  beer  and  peanut-venders — 
were  on  the  scene,  ministering  to  the  wants  of  the 
hungry;  while  the  effects  of  corn  whisky  were  plainly 
discernable  in  the  flushed  cheeks,  unsteady  gait  and 
heated  discussions  of  those  who  had  imbibed  it,  so  slight 
was  the  moral  effect  of  the  public  execution  which  was 
within  an  hour  to  be  consummated  in  their  very 
presence. 

"At  precisely  twelve  o'clock  the  gloomy  procession 
appeared,  with  the  doomed  man  in  their  midst.  The 
victim  wore  an  ordinary  suit  of  black  clothing,  kindly 
donated  for  the  occasion,  had  his  arms  firmly  bound  at 
the  elbows  and  wrists,  a  black  cap  on  his  head  and  a 
halter  around  his  neck.  During  the  mournful  march 
from  the  jail  to  the  scaffold,  his  wife,  who  was  in  a 
neighboring  house,  gave  forth  a  series  of  most  heart- 
rending shrieks,  and  the  whole  combined  furnished  such 
a  scene  as  brought  tears  from  the  eyes  of  the  strongest 
man  present.  The  victim  mounted  the  fatal  drop  with 
placid  composure,  in  strange  contrast  with  the  agitation 
observable  on  the  part  of  the  rest.  He  submitted  with- 
out a  murmur  to  having  his  knees  and  ankles  bound, 
and  then  he  addressed  the  crowd.  He  acknowledged 
his  guilt;  denied  that  he  mutilated  the  body  by  cutting 
off  the  arm  referred  to:  warned  those  in  his  presence 


33 

against  the  evils  of  bad  company  and  kindred  evils,  and 
concluded  by  asserting  his  willingness  to  die  and  com- 
mending his  soul  to  the  Savior.  A  hymn  was  then 
"lined  out"  by  the  minister  present,  in  the  singing  of 
which  the  doomed  man  took  the  lead.  The  good  sisters 
present  shouted  and  prayed  by  turns,  and  in  the  midst 
of  all  this  confusion  the  trap  was  sprung  which  launched 
the  soul  of  Henry  Woods  into  eternity.  The  drop  was 
too  long,  and  the  result  was  the  feet  of  the  victim  rested 
upon  the  earth.  Several  strong  men  rushed  to  assist  the 
sheriff,  and  raised  up  the  body  until  the  rope  could 
be  shortened.  The  body  was  even  then  motionless  and 
void  of  any  evidence  of  animation  to  the  casual  observer, 
although  there  might  have  been  a  perceptible  motion  of 
the  pulse  to  the  medical  expert.  After  hanging  there 
for  the  space  of  an  hour,  it  was  lowered  into  a 
rough  pine  box  and  turned  over  to  the  relations  of  the 
deceased  for  burial." 

When  Cousin  William  had  concluded  this  interesting 
narration  it  was  noticed  that  the  children  had  succumbed 
to  the  influence  of  the  springing  motion  of  the  buggies 
and  fallen  asleep,  while  the  old  pond  had  been  left  far  in 
the  rear. 

In  this  connection  it  may  not  be  considered  out  of 
place  to  remark  that  the  supply  of  water  power  by  the 
pond  referred  to  was  sufficient  to  have  run  spindles  and 
looms   enough   to  spin   and  weave  all  the  cotton  fibre 


34 

produced  in  that  vicinity,  yet  it  was  utterly  disregarded, 
subjected  to  no  practical  use,  and  permitted  to  waste. 
Perhaps  the  future  will  bring  forth  some  Southern 
political  economist  who  will  undertake  to  explain  the 
reason  why  the  producers  of  the  South  continue  to  persist 
in  their  lavish  wastefulness:  why  they  ignore  all  the 
teachings  of  the  past  and  the  rules  and  maxims  of 
economy,  and  cling  to  their  ante  helium  habits.  At 
present  no  adequate  excuse  presents  itself  so  far  as  the 
writer  is  aware  of.  They  plant  their  cotton  and  garner 
it;  they  press  it  into  bales  and  sell  it  to  foreign  man  - 
ufacturers  for  a  small  price,  and  then  buy  it  back 
again,  manufactured  into  fabrics  of  various  kinds,  at  a 
greatly  increased  figure.  They  harvest  their  sugar-cane; 
press  out  the  juice  and  reduce  it  to  sugar,  syrup  and 
molasses,  and  in  many  instances  leave  the  clarifying  and 
renovating  process  to  be  done  by  Northern  labor  and 
enterprise.  Very  poor  land,  which  will  scarcely  produce 
the  tithe  of  a  crop  of  cotton,  is  still  subjected  to  the 
culture  of  the  fibre,  while  the  same  land,  if  given  to  the 
production  of  corn,  sweet  potatoes,  peas,  and  other  like 
produce,  would  repay  the  laborer's  toil  and  render  it 
possible  for  one  to  obtain  articles  of  ordinary  diet  for  the 
table  in  some  sections  where  now  scarcely  the  invalid  is 
able  to  subsist,  so  completely  is  the  whole  territory 
given  to  the  culture  of  cotton.  The  writer  has  an 
acquaintance  who  once  walked  more  than  eight  miles  in 


35 

scouring  the  country  thereabouts  in  the  almost  vain 
effort  to  procure  a  tender  chicken  for  an  invalid  wife. 
And  it  is  a  matter  of  no  very  unfrequent  occurrence  that 
when  at  times  the  boats  are  delayed  by  drouth,  or  other- 
wise, a  whole  town  or  district  is  deprived  of  such  com- 
mon articles  of  food  as  flour  and  bacon,  coffee  and  sugar; 
and,  surprising  as  it  may  seem,  there  was  a  time  during 
the  writer's  residence  in  Hudsonville,  when  corn  for  the 
live  stock  was  held  at  a  premium  because  of  its  scarcity; 
and  this,  too,  when  the  village  was  literally  surrounded 
with  well  cultivated  plantations. 

This  ruinous  policy  on  the  part  of  the  South  was  very 

aptly  illustrated  by  Judge  a  few  weeks  ago  when, 

in  the  course  of  a  public  address  on  the  occasion  of  a 
reception  which  had  been  tendered  one  of  our  prominent 
citizens  by  the  people  of  Columbia,  South  Carolina,  he 
said  in  substance  as  follows:  "We  sell  our  raw  hides  at 
eight  and  ten  cents  a  pound,  and  ship  them  to  the  North; 
we  furnish  the  red  oak  bark  to  tan  them  with;  after- 
wards we  buy  back  the  tanned  leather  and  pay  you 
thirty-five  and  forty  cents  per  pound  for  it."  Nor  are 
the  many  inconveniences  attending  such  a  policy  the 
least  objectionable  feature  attending  this  policy;  for  we 
must  not  lose  sight  of  the  additional  fact  that,  while  the 
producers  fail  to  realize  the  increased  profit  accruing 
from  the  manufacturing  of  the  raw  materials  into  their 
ultimate  forms;  while  their  cities  and  towns  languish  for 


36 

the  want  of  remunerative  employment  for  the  men  and 
the  young  women  who  might  become  to  be  of  assistance 
in  providing  the  necessaries  of  life  for  large  and  needy 
families,  and  the  tide  of  immigi'ation  is  stayed  from  its 
onward  tendency  in  that  direction;  all  of  which  causes 
have  their  force  in  seriously  discouraging  and  retarding 
the  growth  of  that  whole  section  of  country:  while  all 
these  facts  exist,  I  say,  the  additional  fact  remains  to  be 
written  that  the  people  of  the  South  are  actually  paying 
out  of  their  meagre  surplus,  representing  the  profits  on 
their  crops,  the  price  of  twice  handling  the  goods  and 
conve3Ting  them  to  and  from  places  remote  from  the 
sections  where  they  are  consumed.  The  South  expe- 
rienced the  folly  of  this  policy  to  her  sorrow  during  the 
recent  rebellion,  when  she  was  a  dependent  upon  her 
enemies  for  the  sinews  of  war,  and  her  sons  and  daugh- 
ters, in  many  instances,  walked  the  streets  of  her 
commercial  centers  clothed  almost  literally  in  sackcloth ; 
for  it  is  related,  on  good  authority,  that  in  some 
instances  carpeting  was  utilized  as  a  covering  for  the 
person,  and  boots  and  shoes  were  ranked  as  the  greatest 
luxuries.  In  those  days  parched  corn  husks  took  the 
place  of  coffee,  and  butternut  cotton  goods  were  substi- 
tuted for  broad -cloth. 

But  we  have  digressed  from  our  original  topic.  We 
have  passed  the  fifteen-mile  post,  just  five  miles  from  the 
village  of  Oriole,  the  first  on,  our  route,  and  as  we  are 


37 

desirous  of  reaching  that  point  before  three  o'clock  we 
must  urge  on  our  horses.  Once  there,  we  shall  unhitch 
and  feed  them,  while  we  partake  of  a  slight  repast 
ourselves. 

But,  stay;  we  are  approaching  objects  of  importance. 
"What  are  those  moss  covered  buildings  just  in  advance 
of  us,  cousin  Henry?" 

"They  are  an  old  church  and  school-house,  cousin 
John;  and  that  lonely-looking  space  just  in  the  rear  is  a 
cemetery,  or  'grave-yard,'  as  they  are  called  here,"  he 
answered. 

Kind  reader,  excuse  us  for  a  moment  while  we  hold 
the  baby,  so  that  our  patient  wife  can  change  her  posi- 
tion, far  she  vows  that  the  low  brace  attached  to  our 
buggy,  called  a  back,  is  torturing  her,  and  a  change  must 
be  made,  and  that  without  delay;  afterwards  we  shall 
return  to  the  church,  the  school-house  and  the  deserted 
cemetery. 


CHAPTER  III. 


The  Old  Church  and  School  House. — Reflections  on  their  Style 
of  Architecture. — The  Forgotten  Dead. — Superstitious  Dread  of 
Ghosts  on  the  part  of  the  Inhabitants. — Witchcraft  and  Conjura- 
tion— Peculiar  Antics  of  a  Pretended  Conjurer. — His  Legal  Com- 
plications and  Happy  Deliverance. — Despondency  and  Gloom 
occasioned  by  a  Belief  in  the  same. — Ignorance  the  Cause  of  these 
Superstitious  Beliefs. — Its  Existence  in  Germany,  England,  and 
New  England  in  the  Past. — Day  beginning  to  Dawn  in  the  South. 


"  When  I  am  dead  and  gone  from  you  darling, 

When  I'm  laid  low  in  my  grave, 
And  my  spirit  has  gone  to  Heaven  above, 

To  Him  who  my  soul  has  saved ; 
When  you  are  happy  and  gay  once  more, 

Thinking  of  days  that  have  been  ; 
This  one  little  favor  I  ask  of  you, 

See  that  my  grave  is  kept  green." 

It  is  not  the  intention  of  the  writer  to  refer  so  partic- 
ularly to  the  church  and  school  house  in  this  connection, 
as  to  the  forlorn  cemetery  beyond,  for  aside  from  the  dila- 
pidated appearance  of  these  relics  of  the  past,  and  the 
memories  of  days  that  have  now  become  historical,  which 
are  recalled  by  their  presence,  there  was  nothing  con- 
nected with  them  worthy  of  especial  mention.  It  is  true, 
the  old  well  beneath  the  spreading  oak  over  there,  with 


39 

ancient  sweep  and  detached  pole  and  moss  covered  buck- 
et, carried  us  back  in  imagination  to  the  time  when  the 
lads  and  lassies  of  that  section  mounted  upon  their 
frisking  steeds,  who  after  accomplishing  their  sabbath 
days  journey  to  the  house  of  the  Lord,  dismounted  b}-  its 
side,  and  quenched  their  thirst  from  its  refreshing  con- 
tents; to  say  nothing  of  the  little  ones,  (children  of  the 
favored  few)  who  found  in  its  crystal  draught  an  ever- 
ready  excuse  to  escape  the  vigilant  eye  of  the  school 
master,  on  the  sultry  summer's  day. 

And  who  that  has  read  the  story  of  the  afflictions 
and  persecutions  of  the  colored  race  in  the  south,  could 
even  casually  glance  at  the  shattered  panes,  broken 
doors,  dust- covered  pulpit  and  uncushioned  seats  with 
backs  so  erect  and  unyielding  as  to  reflect  to  some  de- 
gree the  cruel  dispositions  of  those  who  were  wont  to 
occupy  them,  while  beneath  the  ministrations  of  some 
sedate  divine  they  searched  the  Scriptures  in  the  vain 
endeavor  to  discover  some  maxim  or  command  that 
would  justify  or  even  extenuate  the  sin  of  human  slavery 
indulged  in  by  them.  But  there  was  nothing  connected 
with  these  time  honored  ruins  that  carried  the  mind 
back  to  an  era  of  thrift  and  advancement,  when  the  in- 
tellect was  unclouded  and  the  ambition  soared  to  sub- 
lime conceptions:  nothing  in  the  architectural  design  of 
these,  suggestive  of  the  Doric,  Ionic,  Corinthian,  Com- 
posite, Gothic  or  any  other  school  known  to  the  artist; 


40 

but  everything  was  flat,  and  unpretentious,  in  perfect 
keeping  with  a  generation  that  courted  ease  and  exemp- 
tion from  toil,  at  the  expense  of  the  sweat,  the  blood  and 
lives  of  a  whole  race  of  people;  and  who  preferred 
rather  to  devote  their  time  to  forging  fetters  for  their 
limbs  and  training  blood-hounds  for  the  inhuman  chase, 
than  to  unfolding  the  god-like  qualities  of  mind  and 
soul,  and  contributing  toward  the  amelioration  of  human 
woes. 

But  let  us  look  at  this  little  cemetery — this  last  rest- 
ing place  of  the  forgotten  dead.  I  say  forgotten ;  and  I 
think  rightly  so;  for  who  could  look  upon  that  lonely 
deserted  space  all  covered  with  rank  weeds  and  inhabited 
by  serpents,  and  come  to  any  other  conclusion.  Here 
were  no  marble  slab  or  monument,  bearing  an  inscription 
of  love  and  kind  remembrance;  not  even  a  stake,  in 
some  instances,  remained  to  mark  the  grave  of  one  who 
formerly  graced  the  board ;  it  might  have  been  a  fond 
parent,  or  perhaps  a  kind  and  loving  brother  or  sister. 

Who  knows  but  that  beneath  those  very  weeds  and 
rubbish,  lay  the  remains  of  one  who  once  was  the  joy 
and  light  of  the  household,  such  an  one  as  could  have  led 
captive  the  heart  of  wealth  and  virtue;  one  whose  merry 
voice  resounded  through  these  very  groves,  fit  company 
for  the  little  song  birds,  that  acknowledged  her  coming 
with  songs  of  delight;  whose  flaxen  tresses  floated  lightly 
on  the  summer  breezes,  disclosing  to  view  a  bust  of  ala- 


41 

baster  and  form  angelic;  and  it  may  be  that  those  little 
feet  once  capered  nimbi}'  o'er  the  well  scrubbed  floor  to 
the  "lascivious  pleasing"  of  a  stringed  instrument  in 
the  hands  of  a  native  musician.  But  now  all  is  for- 
gotten; no  loving  soul,  fondly  cherishing  her  memory, 
bends  the  knee  beside  her  lonety  grave,  to  plant  a  rose 
bush  or  ivy  vine;  no  one  drops  a  tear,silently  saying — 
"  Gone  but  not  forgotten." 

Under  the  circumstances  is  it  to  be  wondered  at  that 
a  general  feeling  of  superstitious  dread  of  ghosts  pervad- 
ed the  community  in  that  section  of  country?  and  that 
even  persons  who  would  not  have  hesitated  to  beard 
the  lion  in  his  den  or  face  the  enemy  on  the  field  of 
battle,  could  not  have  been  hired,  coaxed  or  scared  into 
visiting  that  cemetery,  or  any  other  cemetery  indeed, 
after  night  fall '?  To  have  undertaken  to  persuade  some 
of  the  people  in  that  localit}T  that  there  were  no  such 
existences  in  fact  as  ghosts,  and  convince  them  that 
what  they  mistook  for  these  ethereal  substances  were 
only  results  of  a  distorted  imagination,  would  have  been 
a  futile  task ;  for  it  was  a  belief  not  only  inculcated  from 
their  childhood,  until  it  had  become  to  be  a  part  of  their 
religious  belief,  but  they  had  even  imbibed  it  from  their 
mother's  breast.  The  writer  can  recall  instances  in  his 
childhood  da}Ts  when  one  of  his  daily  chores  was  to  go  to 
the  residence  of  Judge ,  a  wealthy  old  slave  hold- 
er,   and    fetch   back    our   daily  allowance  of  milk,  and 


42 

since  this  duty  was  frequently  performed  after  night 
fall,  no  little  embarrassment  was  experienced  on  his  part 
by  reason  of  the  ghost  stories  with  which  he  was  regaled 
by  those  with  whom  he  came  in  contact  on  the  judge's 
premises.  "  Aunt  Hannah "  would  tell  of  the  dead 
groaning  in  their  graves,  when  certain  passages  of 
scripture  were  read  over  them,  on  certain  nights  of  the 
year  at  the  hour  of  "low  twelve;"  " LittleAunty,"  would 
tell  of  a  haunted  house  on  the  writer's  way  to  his  home, 
where  lights  were  blown  out  and  strange  noises  heard 
at  all  hours  of  night,  in  which  no  one  could  be  induced 
to  reside  for  love  nor  money;  while  Augustus  would 
relate  that  a  real  ghost  had  been  seen  a  few  days  prior, 
walking  in  the  village  cemetery,  and  vow  that  not  for 
his  libert}"  (he  was  a  slave)  could  he  be  induced  to  enter 
that  cemetery  after  dark.  And  often  on  a  winter's  night 
after  sitting  and  hearing  these  ghost  stories  repeated 
around  the  family  circle,  one's  heart  would  leap  within 
him  at  the  rustling  of  a  garment  or  the  movement  of  a 
mouse,  and  in  imagination  he  was  even  then  in  the  pre- 
sence of  a  veritable  "  Spirit  of  health  or  goblin  damned;" 
and  as  for  sleep,  it  was  a  stranger  to  his  eyelids  for 
weary  hours,  and  when  at  last  it  came,  it  brought  with 
it  dreams  such  as  were  better  calculated  to  disturb  than 
refresh  the  mind.  And  while  considering  this  subject, 
we  are  tempted  to  refer  also  to  another  superstitious 
belief  which  has  become  firmly  seated  in  the  minds  of 


43 

many  persons  of  both  colors  in  the  South.  I  refer  to 
the  belief  in  witchcraft  and  conjuration,  the  latter  of 
which  so  far  as  I  am  informed  is  only  a  modification  of 
the  former,  according  to  their  teachings  and  belief. 
They  not  only  refer  to  the  traditions  of  their  ancestors 
as  the  basis  of  this  silly  belief,  but  even  go  so  far  as  to 
point  with  pride  to  certain  passages  of  the  Scriptures,  to 
be  found  in  the  Old  Testament,  in  justification  of  it; 
and  with  a  look  of  triumph  ask  you  whether  you  are 
wiser  than  the  inspired  writers.  Gray  haired  matrons 
and  sires,  "with  one  foot  in  the  grave,"  who  rest 
their  future  happiness  on  a  firm  belief  in  the  teachings 
of  the  meek  and  lowly  Savior,  will  prate  for  hours  of 
witches,  that  enter  dwellings  through  key  holes,  and 
can  only  be  killed  by  being  shot  with  silver  balls;  while 
they  are  as  completely  enslaved  by  their  superstitious 
fears,  maxims,  lucky  and  unlucky  days,  and  as  much 
subjected  by  the  force  of  the  same,  as  though  they  were 
"  I'  the  stocks,"  or  il  fettered  to  the  soil."  Diseases 
that  under  other  circumstances  would  be  attributed 
to  ordinary  causes,  are  laid  at  the  door  of  witches 
and  conjurers,  and  the  only  practical  and  reasonable 
treatments  are  ignored,  while  enchantments  of  various 
kinds,  amulets,  and  charms  are  resorted  to  as  a  means  of 
relief.  Cups  are  turned,  roots  of  various  kinds  are  dug 
from  the  earth  and  treasured  up,  horse  shoes  and  bones 
of  animals  are  suspended  in  the  house  or  nailed  over  the 


44 

doors,  cards  are  shuffled  and  their  dread  portents  read 
with  alarm ;  children  are  taught  to  religiously  avoid  step- 
ping in  the  "  fresh  tracks  "  of  those  who  have  preceded 
them  on  the  road;  to  enter  a  house  at  one  door  and  depart 
by  the  same,  they  consider  an  ill  omen;  to  turn  back  is  a 
sign  of  bad  luck,  because  Lot's  wife  looked  back  and  was 
turned  into  a  pillar  of  salt;  an  old  shoe  is  cast  after  a 
newly  married  couple,  and  the  life  and  death  of  the 
contracting  parties  to  every  marriage  are  influenced 
by  the  state  of  the  weather  at  the  time  of  its  consumma- 
tion. All  the  foregoing  signs  are  l'egarded  with  religious 
scrupulousness,  to  say  nothing  of  the  pbazes  of  the  moon 
and  lucky  and  unlucky  stars;  a  few  marks  upon  the 
earth  or  a  crooked  stick  in  the  way,  excites  as  much 
curiosity,  more  indeed,  than  a  venomous  reptile  would. 

The  writer  recalls  an  incident  in  this  connection, 
which  occurred  during  his  so] urn  in  the  South,  that  goes 
far  toward  illustrating  the  subject  under  consideration. 
Not  far  from  the  village  of  Hudsonville  there  was  situated 
a  large  cotton  plantation,  the  property  of  a  Mr.  Sackett, 
of  Charleston.  There  were  extensive  quarters  upon  this 
land  for  the  accommodation  of  the  hands,  of  whom  there 
were  a  goodly  number.  The  overseer,  together  with  his 
wife  and  children,  composed  the  white  portion  ot  the 
inhabitants,  while  the  colored  hands  constituted  the 
remainder.  They  were  of  the  average  intelligence 
found  in  that  section  of  the  country.     During  the  spring 


45 

of  the  year  1S72,  a  peculiar-looking  genius,  tall  of 
stature,  dark  of  complexion,  wearing  knee  breeches,  a 
red  flannel  shirt  and  a  very  broad-brimmed  straw  hat, 
made  his  appearance  upon  the  plantation  aforesaid, 
carrying  in  his  hand  a  small  satchel,  containing  numerous 
vials  filled  with  liquid  substances  of  various  colors.  He 
announced  himself  as  being  a  votary  at  the  shrine  of  his 
Satanic  majesty,  with  whom  he  was  in  league,  and  by 
whose  aid  and  assistance  he  possessed  power  not  only 
over  all  the  various  diseases  and  ills  to  which  humanity 
is  heir,  but  even  succeeded  in  convincing  some  of  the 
members  of  the  little  community  that  he  held  in  his 
power  the  destinies  of  all  who  came  within  reach  of  his 
magic  arts.  He  could  unfold  the  secrets  of  the  past  and 
present,  and  prognosticate  the  future.  His  bearing  and 
attire  were  so  very  peculiar  that  he  experienced  little 
difficulty  in  securing  free  access  to  the  rude  cabins, 
where  he  gratuitously  obtained  his  dinner  and  supper. 
During  the  interval  between  these  meals  he  improved 
the  opportunity  of  telling  the  fortunes  of  several  of  the 
heads  of  families  and  their  wives.  To  some  husbands 
he  unfolded  the  infidelity  of  their  wives,  and  then  he,  in 
turn,  revealed  to  the  grief-stricken  wives  all  the  myste- 
ries of  their  husbands1  guilty  loves.  The  result  of  all 
this  treachery  was  that  there  were  few  cabins  on  that 
plantation  during  the  following  night  where  peace  and 
quiet  prevailed.     Mutual  accusations  were  made;  mutual 


46 

explanations  and  protestations  followed;  then  curses 
and  hissing  epithets  were  showered  down  freely  upon 
the  head  of  the  presumptuous  wretch — the  vice-gerent  of 
"  Old  Nick" — who  was  the  cause  of  all  the  trouble.  At 
last  the  impostor  was  ferreted  out,  bound  hand  and  foot 
and,  after  having  been  ridden  on  the  "  ragged  edge"  of  a 
rail  through  the  quarters,  he  was  turned  over  to  the 
tender  mercies  of  the  minions  of  the  law.  The  trial 
justice's  office  was  crowded  on  the  following  morning 
with  witnesses  and  anxious  spectators,  determined  to 
see  that  right  and  justice  prevailed. 

The  justice's  office  was  situated  on  an  isolated  town 
lot,  flanked  on  either  side  with  small  "  patches  "  of  corn. 
The  corn  was  now  sufficiently  advanced  to  be  about  five 
feet  in  height,  which  in  that  locality  was  not  more  than 
half  height.  The  case  was  called  "  The  State  of  South 
Carolina  against  John  Doe."  The  now  thoroughly 
frightened  victim  was  led  to  the  bar  of  justice;  the  win- 
dows and  the  door  were  open,  and  yet  the  heat  was 
oppressive  and  the  atmosphere  stifling. 

When  the  defendant  had  patiently  listened  to  the 
reading  of  the  charge  preferred  against  him,  he  mur- 
mured not,  but  entered  a  plea  of  "  guilty."  Then,  as  if 
to  seek  relief,  he  exclaimed,  "  Sheriff,  for  goodness  sake 
give  me  a  little  water,  or  I  shall  faint;"  at  the  same 
instant  reaching  forward  toward  the  water  bucket, 
which  stood  on  a  shelf  near  the  door.     The  crowd,  now 


47 

partially  reconciled,  stood  apart  to  give  the  fainting 
man  a  chance,  when,  with  a  leap  and  a  bound,  the  bird 
escaped,  and  in  another  moment,  as  he  sped  through  the 
corn,  the  rows  actually  parted  to  receive  him,  so  great 
was  his  speed.  Talk  of  pursuing  him !  one  had  as  well 
have  undertaken  to  pursue  the  frightened  stag  or  to 
chase  the  bird  on  the  wing,  so  rapid  were  his  movements. 
He  never  smiled  on  us  again,  and  the  last  word  that  was 
heard  of  him  was  brought  by  a  wagoner,  who  had 
encountered  him  in  an  adjoining  countjT,  where  b}'  means 
of  a  black  cord  stretched  across  the  road  and  his  vials 
of  liquids,  he  had  frightened  some  of  the  ignorant 
ones,  and  was  actually  demanding  and  receiving  from 
them  small  sums  of  money  as  an  indemnity  against 
evil. 

This  is  a  strange  recital,  but  true  nevertheless.  I  do 
not  hesitate  to  assert  that  death  itself  were  preferable  to 
a  condition  of  mind  such  as  enslaves  those  who  are 
the  victims  of  that  cruel  superstitious  belief  known  as 
conjuration,  when  from  the  very  nature  of  its  teachings 
they  are  cut  off  from  all  hope,  and  relegated  to  gloomy 
forebodings  and  despair.  Let  us  hope  that  a  brighter 
day  is  dawning  for  the  deluded  souls  in  the  Sunny 
South,  when  intelligence  and  reason  shall  prevail,  and 
ignorance  shall  be  dispelled.  Then  all  these  supersti- 
tious beliefs  will  be  banished.  The  time  was  when  in 
some   of  the   most  enlightened   portions    of  the   earth 


similar  beliefs  prevailed  to  an  alarming  extent;  for  we 
are  told  by  Macaulejr  that  in  the  beginning  of  the  six- 
teenth century  death  was  first  pronounced  against  all 
who  should  be  convicted  of  witchcraft;  also  that  about 
the  year  1515,  five  hundred  witches  were  executed  in 
Genoa  in  the  space  of  three  months;  and  that  about  one 
hundred  thousand  persons  were  executed  in  Germany 
from  the  publication  of  the  bull  of  Innocent  VIII.,  in 
the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  up  to  the  sup- 
pression of  the  evil:  in  some  instances  children  not 
more  than  nine  years  of  age  being  the  victims.  And,  mi- 
rabile  dicta,  we  are  informed  that  even  in  "  Old  England," 
in  the  year  1716,  a  Mrs.  Hix  and  her  little  daughter, 
aged  nine  years,  were  hanged  at  Huntington  for  selling 
their  souls  to  the  devil  and  raising  a  storm  by  pulling 
off  their  stockings  and  making  a  lather  of  soap;  and 
that  no  less  than  thirty  thousand  were  executed  in 
England  for  witchcraft.  And  when,  in  addition  to  the 
foregoing,  we  recall  the  fact  that  even  in  our  own 
beloved  country  bitter  persecutions  have  taken  place  on 
this  same  account,  we  need  not  marvel  that  it  exists  in 
the  South  among  those  who  have  not  enjoyed  the 
elevating  influence  of  education  and  modern  teachings. 
But,  stay;  I  have  detained  the  reader  so  long  with  my 
musings  and  anecdotes  that  we  are  now  in  sight  of  the 
village  of  Oriole. 

The  children  are  awake  again  and  waking  the  echoes, 


49 

rejoiced  at  the  idea  of  pressing  mother  earth  once  more 
with  their  little  feet;  and  even  our  fatigued  horses  have 
quickened  their  pace,  full}'  cognizant  of  the  fact  that 
the}-  are  nearing  the  end  of  the  first  stage.  We  shall 
meet  again  in  the  village. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


Oriole. — Its  Appearance,  Population,  etc. — Edward  Hill,  our 
Host. — Some  Account  of  his  Early  Life  and  Subsequent  Career. — 
Labor  and  Perseverance  Conquers  All. — Sacrifice  of  Principle 
Essential  to  Success  in  the  South  Then  as  Now. — Our  Repast. — 
The  Menu. — "  Collards." — Moral  Status  of  the  Denizens  of  Oriole. 
— Brown's  Opinion :  "  It  is  Worse  than  New  York." — Reminis- 
cence of  a  Former  Visit  to  This  Place.— Reflections  on  the  Treat- 
ment of  Colored  People  in  all  parts  of  the  South. 


The  village  of  Oriole  would  never  have  existed  unless 
the  W.  &  R.  Rail  Road  had  been  constructed;  and  as  it 
owes  its  origin  to  that  rail  road,  to  a  similar  degree  it 
was  dependent  upon  it  for  its  means  of  support.  The 
"  shops  "  were  located  here,  together  with  a  round  house 
for  the  accommodation  of  locomotives,  and  these  supplied 
employment  for  the  heads  of  the  greater  number  of  fam- 
ilies in  the  place.  A  ware  house,  three  varieties  stores, 
and  four  groggeries  for  the  accommodation  of  the  inhab- 
itants and  "stranger  guests,"  who  flocked  in  at  stated 
intervals  from  the  surrounding  territory,  completed  the 
list  of  business  establishments,  if  we  except  a  dingy 
looking  excuse  for  an  hotel,  of  which,  more  further  on. 
As  the  afternoon  was  far  advanced,  and  both  tourists 
and  beasts  of  burden  were  sadly  in  need  of  refreshments 
we  did  not  tany  to  make  an  inspection  of  the  "town,"  or 


51 

even  to  gratify  the  idiotic  stare  of  the  lonesome  looking 
inhabitants,  but  urged  our  steeds  forward  to  the  suburbs 
where  resided  an  old  acquaintance,  in  the  person  of  Mr. 
Edward  Hill,  a  gentleman  of  color,  the  head  and  chief 
support  of  a  large  and  growing  family.  Mr.  Hill  was 
the  personification  of  a  self  made  man,  viewed  from  one 
aspect,  and  furnished  a  fair  illustration  of  what  a  man, 
devoid  of  intellectual  training  beyond  such  as  he 
could  acquire  under  adverse  circumstances,  proscribed 
by  a  wicked  and  embarrassing  caste  prejudice,  can  ac- 
complish, if  he  only  possesses  a  sober,  industrious  char- 
acter, coupled  with  a  will  to  overcome.  Edward  Hill  was 
more  than  the  foregoing;  he  was  a  fair  type  of  a  large 
class  of  colored  men  who  were  then  as  now  struggling 
against  adverse  fate  in  the  South,  in  the  laudable  etfort 
to  vindicate  the  good  name  of  the  so  called  freedmen  of 
that  section.  Edward  was  born  a  slave  in  the  state  of 
"  Old  Virginia;7'  he  had  no  remembrance  of  his  mother 
or  father,  because  he  was  separated  from  them  in  his  in- 
fancy, they  having  been  sold  to  a  ';  speculator,"  who 
carried  them  to  one  of  the  gulf  states,  as  was  supposed, 
and  disposed  of  them  to  the  producers  of  sugar  and  cot- 
ton. When  quite  a  lad,  he  was  purchased  by  Colonel 
Hill,  one  of  the  former  residents  of  that  county,  and 
given  employment  as  a  plantation  hand  on  his  land,  in 
which  capacity  he  soon  became  to  be  a  favorite,  by 
reason  of  his  industrious  habits  and  pleasing  disposition. 


52 

When  the  Emancipation  Proclamation  was  issued, 
Edward,  like  the  remainder  of  the  hands,  became  to  be 
a  free  man,  and  without  a  month's  delay,  set  about  earn- 
ing a  livelihood  for  his  family ;  for  he  had  already  taken 
unto  himself  a  wife,  after  the  plantation  fashion  then 
prevailing,  and  was  even  then  the  father  of  several 
promising  little  children. 

Colonel  Hill,  his  former  master,  furnished  him  a 
piece  of  land,  containing  about  twenty-five  acres,  upon 
the  condition  that  Edward  should  give  him  a  portion 
of  the  net  proceeds,  after  defraying  the  expenses  of 
producing  the  crop;  which  was  supposed  to  be  a  very  fair 
transaction  on  the  part  of  the  Colonel  for  the  time  and 
locality  in  which  he  resided.  In  order  to  procure  the 
necessary  implements  of  agriculture,  as  well  as  means  of 
sustenance  while  the  process  of  cultivating  the  crop  was 
taking  place,  our  friend  was  compelled  to  execute  a  lien 
upon  the  whole  crop  and  his  personal  effects  to  a  grocer 
in  the  town,  as  was  the  universal  custom  in  all  that 
region  of  country.  His  power  consisted  of  an  old  horse, 
which  he  had  purchased  for  a  trifle,  and  a  small  steer, 
hardly  tractable,  but  yet  under  the  vigorous  and  skillful 
handling  of  his  master  capable  of  doing  good  service. 
In  the  midst  of  the  season,  at  a  time  when  his  crop  most 
needed  attention,  Edward  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  his 
horse,  and  then  there   was  to  be  seen   an.  example  of 


53 

pluck  and  energy  scarcely  equaled,  certainly  not  excelled, 
by  the  fabled  heroes  of  ancient  mythology;  for  this 
determined  man  did  not  sit  in  despondency  and  gloom 
and  bewail  his  loss;  but,  shall  I  tell  it,  while  his  eldest 
son  guided  the  plow  behind  the  little  steer,  his  loving 
wife  stood  in  the  same  capacity  to  him,  for  he  actually 
drew  the  plow  which  she  guided.  No  member  of  that 
family  was  permitted  to  be  idle,  even  the  little  ones 
assisting  in  various  ways.  The  result  of  all  this  heroic 
effort  was  that  at  the  end  of  the  season  Edward  had  a 
surplus,  after  paying  all  his  debts,  and  the  next  spring 
found  him  entering  upon  his  preparations  for  another 
crop  with  a  good  horse  and  wagon,  which  he  could  call 
his  own.  And  so  he  had  continued  to  labor,  year  after 
year,  until  now,  after  the  lapse  of  nine  }'ears,  we  found 
him  the  owner  of  a  large  tract  of  well-improved  land, 
completely  stocked,  and  capable  of  producing,  even  in 
an  average  season,  twenty-five  bales  of  cotton,  which  was 
at  that  time  worth  in  the  aggregate  about  eighteen 
hundred  dollars.  This  is  the  class  of  colored  men  so 
often  referred  to  by  members  of  Congress  and  others 
from  the  South  in  vindication  of  the  "  wise  and  humane  " 
policy  adopted  by  them  toward  those  who  were  formerly 
their  slaves.  They  say:  "Behold  Edward  Hill,  only 
nine  years  a  free  man,  and  yet  the  owner  of  a  large  farm 
and   its   appurtenances,  with  a  net  income  of  at  least  a 


54 

thousand  dollars  per  year.  Where  is  your  colored 
citizen  in  the  North  that  is  doing  as  well."  By  way  of 
answer  to  all  such  we  have  simply  to  say  that,  while 
Edward  throve  and  accumulated  property,  he  did  it  at  a 
fabulous  cost,  namely:  the  utter  sacrifice  of  his  man- 
hood; the  subjection  of  all  his  civil  and  political 
convictions  to  the  dictates  of  those  whom  he  dared  not 
deny  as  his  superiors.  He  did  it  by  eschewing  all 
political  discussions,  and  even  the  ballot-box,  except 
when,  for  the  sake  of  satisfying  his  neighbors,  he  voted 
the  Democratic  ticket,  against  which  his  soul  and  con- 
victions rebelled  within  him.  But,  hearken!  they  are 
calling  us  to  dinner  or  supper,  which  ever  you  please, 
for  it  is  rather  late  for  dinner  and  somewhat  early  for 
supper;  and,  while  we  have  been  following  our  friend 
over  his  farm,  viewing  his  possessions  and  listening  to  a 
recital  of  his  struggles  to  obtain  it,  the  ladies,  "  God 
bless  them,"  have  prepared  our  frugal  repast,  and  now 
T\e  must  partake  of  it.  Mrs.  Hill  had  very  kindly 
prepared  us  some  hot  coffee,  while  our  good  wives  had 
pooled  the  contents  of  their  several  baskets  for  the  com- 
mon repast.  The  menu  was  not  such  an  one  as  would 
have  been  apt  to  stimulate  the  appetite  of  a  fastidious 
person,  accustomed  to  an  elaborate  bill  of  fare,  but  the 
viands  were  relished  nevertheless,  as  the  appearance  of 
the  dishes,  after  we  had  finished,  showed.     We  had  as  a 


55 

BILL    OF    FARE, 

the  following: 

No  Soup  :  No  Fish  : 

Boiled  Bacon,  very  fat  and  cold,  with  Collards : 
Stewed  Chicken,  with  Dumplings : 
Sweet  Potatoes : 
Fried  Chicken : 
More  Collards: 
Corn  Bread  :  Pickles  : 

Apple  Pie  : 
Coffee : 
A  few  more  Collards. 
The  uninitiated  ma}T  be  curious  to  know  what  col- 
lards are;  and  since  you  have  the  profoundest  sympa- 
thies of  the   writer,  patient  reader,  if  you  have  never 
eaten    any   of    them,    he    will   undertake   to   enlighten 
you  a  little  on  that  subject. 

Collards  are  a  species  of  the  cabbage  plant,  of  a  dark 
green  color;  they  are  cultivated  like  cabbages,  and  have 
almost  the  exact  appearance  of  cabbages  until  the3* 
become  advanced  in  age.  The  cabbage  heads;  the  col- 
lard  does  not  head.  But  the  collard  does  begin  to  head, 
and  forms  a  closed  lump  in  the  center  about  the  size  of 
an  orange,  which  turns  white  after  being  touched  by 
frost,  while  the  surrounding  leaves  are  only  streaked 
with  white.  To  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  districts 
of  the  South,  where  there  are  no  markets,  and  the  daily 
allowance  consists  of  salt  meat,  rice,  potatoes  and  the 


56 

like,  and  where  fresh  beef  is  scarcely  ever  tasted  by  the 
poor  people,  the  collard  is  a  very  great  blessing;  because 
when  boiled  in  a  pot  with  a  piece  of  fat  meat  and  balls 
of  corn  meal  dough,  having  the  size  and  appearance  of 
ordinary  white  turnips,  called  dumplings,  it  makes  pal- 
atable a  diet  which  would  otherwise  be  all  but  intolera- 
ble. And  they  are  very  dearly  liked  by  nearly  every 
one  who  has  been  raised  on  Southern  soil,  including 
even  some  of  her  most  dignified  statesmen. 

After  dinner  we  improved  the  opportunity  of  taking 
a  stroll  through  the  principal  street  of  the  village,  where 
a  fair  opportunity  was  offered  of  studying  the  moral 
and  intellectual  status  of  the  inhabitants.  In  front  of 
the  stores  and  groggeries  benches  were  invariably  to  be 
seen,  upon  which  lounged  numerous  inferior  specimens 
of  humanity,  smoking  clay  pipes  with  long  reed  stems, 
squirting  tobacco  juice,  whittling  pine  sticks,  and  "spin- 
ning yarns.'"  It  was  a  scene  such  as  was  repeated 
seventy-five  times  out  of  a  hundred  to  the  vision  of  the 
southern  tourists  at  that  period  of  the  South's  history. 
Invariably  one  could  see  hitched  near  by  one  or  more 
horses,  saddled  and  bridled — a  favorite  mode  of  travel- 
ing in  that  country.  Of  oaths  of  a  most  blasphemous 
nature  there  was  no  limit,  and  to  the  mind  of  the 
average  Northener  the  suggestion  forced  itself  that  there 
was  a  suitable  field  for  the  faithful  missionary  desirous 
of  doing  something  in  the  service  of  the  Master. 


57 

A  year  previous  to  this  time,  Brown,  with  his 
fighting  proclivities,  had  gone  to  this  village  and  opened 
a  small  grocery  store,  in  which  he  also  retailed  a  little 
of  "  the  ardent.11  He  had  not  been  there  three  months 
before  he  had  received  as  many  challenges  to  fight  at 
fisticuffs,  all  of  which  he  had  to  accept  or  else  wear  the 
brand  of  coward,  which  would  not  only  have  subjected 
him  to  every  conceivable  anno}^ance  from  even  his 
ph}Tsical  inferiors,  but  also  jeopardized  his  success  in 
business  there.  On  one  occasion  he  was  compelled  to 
bar  his  doors  and  windows  for  several  hours,  until 
assistance  arrived;  and,  on  another,  he  was  shot  in  the 
leg,  and  confined  to  his  bed  for  several  weeks.  Brown 
finalhT,  after  a  brave  struggle,  lost  courage,  sold  his 
place  and  moved  to  Hudsonville,  vowing  that  he  would 
not  live  in  Oriole  if  any  one  should  give  him  the  best 
place  in  the  town,  exclaiming:  "Why,  upon  my  word 
of  honor,  it  is  worse  than  New  York,"  which  in  his 
opinion  was  no  compliment,  for  he  was  in  New  York 
City  during  the  hanging  of  colored  men  and  burning  of 
the  Colored  Orphan  Asylum  by  Democrats  in  1863. 

The  writer  now  recalls  an  incident  of  a  trip  to 
this  village,  a  few  months  prior  to  the  time  referred 
to.  His  family,  consisting  of  his  wife  and  little  boy, 
not  two  years  of  age,  together  with  himself,  were  suffer- 
ing from  the  effects  of  a  protracted  spell  of  fever  and 
ague,  as  well  as  the  hurtful  results  of  enormous  doses  of 


58 

quinine  and  calomel,  thathad  been  administered  to  them 
by  the  physicians  employed.  We  were  hardly  convales- 
cent, very  weak,  and  it  was  thought  that  the  life  of  the 
little  one  hung  b}'  a  thread  almost.  As  a  last  resort,  it 
was  decided  to  try  the  effects  of  a  colder  climate,  and  a 
visit  to  our  kind  relatives  and  friends  in  Northern  Ohio 
was  undertaken.  Our  first  stage  lay  over  the  same 
rough  road  that  we  have  just  described,  and  in  order 
that  we  might  be  at  the  station  in  time  to  take  the  earl}r 
morning  train  it  was  necessary  to  travel  all  night. 
When  we  arrived  at  Oriole  on  the  following  morning, 
cold,  weary  and  almost  heart-broken,  we  keenly  felt  the 
need  of  some  nourishing  food,  and  the  writer  imme- 
diately applied  at  the  only  hotel  in  the  place  for  accom- 
modation. We  were  flatly  refused;  receiving  as  an 
answer  from  the  landlord — "  We  don't  feed  niggers 
here;  our  boarders  will  not  allow  it.  If  you  choose  you 
can  go  in  the  kitchen  and  eat."  We  looked  around. 
There  sat  several  sickly-looking  men,  who  appeared  as  if 
their  only  mission  on  earth  was  to  eat  clay  and  spit 
tobacco  juice,  and  the}r  leered  at  us  as  though  we  had 
committed  the  unpardonable  sin.  Why  are  we  so  dis- 
gracefully treated?  the  writer  asked  himself.  We  are 
clean,  our  deportment  is  good,  and  we  are  fully  prepared 
to  liquidate  all  bills.  Ah,  alas!  I  forgot;  it  is  because 
our  complexions  are  less  fair  than  theirs.  The  da}'  will 
come  when  the  rights   of  men  shall  be  respected  in  this 


59 

South  regardless  of  color,  birth  or  previous  condition. 
"  Eat  in  the  kitchen !"  Why,  indulgent  reader,  the 
kitchen  was  a  filth  hole,  dark  and  repelling,  the  noisome 
odors  of  which  would  have  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
health  officers  in  any  well-regulated  Northern  city  with- 
out delay.  And  so  we  were  compelled  to  grope  around 
in  a  strange  place,  among  strangers,  until  coming  in 
contact  with  a  large-hearted  black  man,  a  Good  Samari- 
tan in  the  full  acceptance  of  the  term,  our  wants  were 
supplied,  and  we  went  on  our  way  rejoicing.  This  is 
only  one  instance  of  the  kind  from  hundreds  that 
might  be  mentioned,  showing  that  while  colored  men  in 
the  South  are  acceptable  as  farm  hands ;  while  they  are 
sought  after  as  house  servants,  and  permitted  to  almost 
monopolize  all  classes  of  menial  employment,  and  the 
women  in  some  instances  serve  as  wet  nurses,  yet  they  are 
not  good  enough  in  the  estimation  of  very  ordinary  white 
Southerners  to  hold  places  of  official  trust,  or  sit  at  the 
same  table  with  them. 

In  fact,  occurrences  on  a  par  with  the  one  just 
referred  to,  took  place  in  several  instances  during  the 
remainder  of  our  journey  to  Ohio.  Even  in  the  city  of 
Baltimore  we  were  threatened  with  ejection  from  the 
parlor  or  waiting  room  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Rail 
Road  depot,  and  it  was  only  by  the  most  persistent 
effort,  and  positive  threats  of  a  civil  action  against  the 
company  for  damages,  that  we  prevented  the  action  from 


60 

being  taken.  And  again,  in  our  passage  from  Baltimore 
to  another  locality,  on  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  we  were  re- 
fused such  reasonable  and  ordinary  accommodation  as 
was  accorded  to  the  average  white  traveler,  who  was  able 
to  pay  for  it.  It  is  a  sore  affliction  for  men  in  any 
station  in  life,  however  ignorant  and  humble  soever  they 
may  be  to  be  debarred  of  the  common  courtesies  and 
necessaries  of  life;  but  when  a  class  of  persons  who  have 
spent  a  portion  of  their  clays  among  civilized  and  mag- 
nanimous people,  such  as  are  to  be  found  in  many  sec- 
tions of  the  North,  and  who  have  gained  such  a  degree 
of  information,  and  culture  as  to  know  and  appreciate 
the  rights  and  duties  of  citizens  to  one  another,  are 
denied  them  in  plain  violation  of  all  law,  it  is  downright 
persecution  and  torture.  There  is  no  city  in  the  South 
at  the  present  time,  where  a  colored  gentleman  can  obtain 
first  class  fare  at  an  ordinary  hotel;  and  indeed,  it 
would  be  almost  at  the  cost  of  his  life  that  even  the  at- 
tempt would  be  made  in  many  instances.  Nor  is  this 
all;  in  some  parts  of  the  South  they  not  only  have  sep- 
arate apartments  provided  for  colored  people  in  their  rail 
road  cars,  but  they  have  gone  so  far  as  to  put  benches  in 
dilapidated  box  cars  for  their  accommodation,  which  are 
at  times  suffered  to  become  most  intolerably  filthy  for 
the  want  of  a  little  attention.  And  this  practice  is  even 
carried  to  street  cars  in  some  cities,  where  the  anxious 
patron  is  compelled  to  await  the  arrival  of  one  bearing 


61 

the  legend  "Colored  People's  Car,"  or  else  walk  to  his 
place  of  destination.  But  all  the  objects  of  interest  are 
now  examined.  Let  us  return  to  the  house  and  assist 
the  women  and  children  in  their  preparations  for  the 
prosecution  of  our  journey;  for  there  are  fifteen  miles 
before  us  yet  to  be  traveled  before  we  seek  repose.  The 
children  must  be  well  wrapped  too,  for  we  are  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Great  Dismal  Swamp,  and  when  the  sun 
has  set  the  atmosphere  will  be  impregnated  with  noisome 
vapors  freighted  with  miasma  whence  spring  so  many  of 
the  destructive  diseases,  of  which  the  South  is  so  prolific. 
In  the  meantime,  cousin  Henry,  let  me  insist  that  you  do 
slacken  }rour  speed  in  the  future  for  it  will  not  be  at  all 
agreeable  to  be  left  behind  in  this  lonesome  neighborhood. 
On  our  way  hither  you  left  us  so  far  behind  that  we 
came  near  losing  ourselves,  but,  thanks  to  a  pair  of  vig- 
orous lungs  we  were  enabled  to  attract  your  attention 
and  arrest  your  speed. 

Once  more  we  are  safely  mounted,  and  away.  Good 
bye  Mr.  Hill  and  family!  Good  bye  Oriole!  May  you 
both  prosper  and  live  long. 


CHAPTEK  V. 


Lowlands  of  the  Carolinas. — Spring  Freshets. — Famine  Threat 
ened. — Mail  Carrier  Up  a  Tree, — Unhealthy  Localities. — Rice 
Culture. — Sufferings  of  Hands. — The  Great  Dismal  Swamp. — 
Appearance  and  Extent. — The  Robber's  Stronghold. — Henry  Berry 
Lowrie. — He  Defies  the  Militia  of  a  Whole  State. — -His  Audacious 
Bearing. — A  Confrere  Hung. — Lowrie  is  Wounded  and  finally 
Killed. — The  Fugitive's  Retreat. — Uncle  Pompey's  Experience. 


In  some  sections  of  the  South,  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  and  the  large  rivers  tributary  thereto, 
are  to  be  seen  many  of  those  dark,  gloomy  and  forbid- 
ding places  commonly  known  as  swamps.  This  is 
especially  true  of  the  eastern  half  of  the  territory  form- 
ing the  States  of  North  and  South  Carolina,  through 
which  flow  the  Neuse,  Cape  Fear,  Peclee,  and  Wateree 
Rivers;  places  which  are  not  surpassed  for  wild  scenery 
and  natural  ferocity,  so  to  speak,  by  any  of  those 
African  jungles  with  which  the  writings  of  Livingstone, 
Stanley,  Cameron,  and  other  explorers,  have  made  us 
familiar.  Nor  is  it  necessary  to  depart  from  the  ordi- 
nary avenues  of  travel  in  order  to  experience  the  truth- 
fulness of  the  foregoing  statement.  Many  of  the  -most 
frequented  highways,  and  even  railroads,  lead  through 
these  districts,  affording  a  most  excellent  opportunity  of 


63 

observation  to  the  tourist  and  traveler.  In  man}'  in- 
stances the  difficulties  encountered  in  constructing  rail- 
roads are  enormous,  and  to  people  not  possessing 
genuine  pluck,  skill  and  endurance,  they  would  be 
insurmountable.  Passengers  who  have  traveled  over 
the  road  running  from  Wilmington  North  Carolina,  to 
Charleston  and  Columbia,  South  Carolina,  will  readily 
recall  to  mind  a  high  trestle  work,  several  miles  in 
extent,  over  which  trains  are  borne  while  passing 
through  one  ot  these  inhospitable  localities.  The  sud- 
den change  from  the  pines  and  sands  encountered  on 
the  eastern  coast  of  North  Carolina,  and  the  comforts 
and  luxuries  of  cit}T  life,  to  the  bogs  and  fens  of  the 
swamp  districts,  must  be  seen  and  experienced  in  order 
to  be  properly  appreciated.  However,  to  see  them  in  all 
their  prodigality,  one  should  visit  these  sections  in  the 
springtime  of  the  year,  during  the  falling  of  the  March 
and  April  showers.  Then  the  rivers  and  their  tribu- 
taries occasionally  rise  to  such  an  extent  as  to  overflow 
their  banks  and  inundate  all  the  neighboring  land.  On 
such  occasions  ordinary  business  is  almost  completeby 
suspended,  and  the  attention  of  all  is  turned  not  only  to 
the  protection  of  their  property,  but  of  even  human 
life;  and  it  is  not  an  uncommon  occurrence  for  all  the 
live  stock  contained  on  large  plantations,  such  as  horses, 
cows  and  pigs,  to  be  swept  away  during  the  course  of  a 
single  night.     All  travel  is  suspended,  means  of  com- 


64 

rnunication  with  the  outer  world  being  cut  off  until  the 
waters  subside;  and  in  one  instance,  at  least,  the  writer 
is  reminded,  there  was  an  actual  scarcity  of  the  neces- 
saries of  life  in  the  little  village  of  Hudsonville  for  the 
reason  last  stated.  One  of  the  amusing  incidents  of  the 
last  freshet  that  we  were  witness  to  (and  they  are 
characterized  Irv  amusing  as  well  as  sad  scenes)  was 
connected  with  the  postal  service  of  the  village.  Hobbs 
was  the  mail  agent;  he  had  been  prior  to  the  war  a 
slave;  hence  he  was  poor  and  had  not  the  most  approved 
facilities  for  conveying  the  mail  from  the  nearest  rail 
road  station  to  the  post  office,  a  distance  of  fourteen 
miles.  At  the  accustomed  hour,  on  the  occasion  referred 
to,  the  greater  portion  of  the  male  inhabitants  of  the 
place  went  to  the  post  office,  as  was  their  custom,  to 
await  the  arrival  and  distribution  of  the  mail;  but  as 
time  wore  on  and  the  mail  did  not  arrive,  they  betook 
them  to  their  homes  in  a  disappointed  frame  of  mind. 
On  the  following  morning  a  courier  arrived  direct  from 
Hobbs,  bearing  the  information  that  he  had  started  with 
his  mail  bag  on  the  previous  evening,  but  the  freshet 
overtaking  him  he  was  obliged  to  seek  safety  in  a  tree, 
leaving  his  horse  to  escape  as  best  he  could,  and  that  he 
was  still  up  in  the  tree,  where  he  had  guarded  the  mail 
bag  all  the  live-long  night.  The  courier  closed  his 
statement  with  a  most  earnest  request  from  Mr.  Hobbs 
that  relief  be  immediately  sent  to  him.     However,  before 


65 

assistance  could  be  sent,  Hobbs  was  descried  in  the 
distance,  trudging  faithfully  along  the  road,  with  the 
precious  burden  on  his  shoulder,  to  the  joy  and  delight 
of  all.  He  had  availed  himself  of  the  kind  assistance  of 
people  in  the  vicinity,  until  he  reached  dry  land,  when 
he  bid  defiance  to  distance  or  the  weight  of  his  load, 
and  started  for  home  afoot.  But  he  was  not  always  so 
fortunate,  for  on  another  occasion  he  was  shut  out  from 
us,  and  we  were  deprived  of  the  benefits  of  the  mail  for 
nearly  a  whole  week,  without  intermission. 

It  may  seem  strange  to  many  persons  living  at  dis- 
tances remote  from  these  swamps,  upon  high  and  well 
drained  land,  that  an  intelligent  class  of  persons  could 
be  induced  to  locate  in  close  proximity  to  them,  when 
there  is  so  much  land  better  adapted  to  the  wants  of 
man;  especially  since  the  atmosphere  in  this  vicinity 
during  certain  seasons  of  the  year  is  so  thoroughly  im- 
pregnated with  miasm  as  to  breed  diseases  of  various 
kinds  which  bring  in  their  train  suffering  and  death. 
This  action  on  their  part  may  be  attributed  to  various 
influences,  such  as  the  well  known  influences  of  nativity 
and  pecuniary  interest,  inability  to  dispose  of  one's 
possessions  at  what  he  considers  a  reasonable  value 
of  them,  the  extra  fertility  of  the  river  lands,  and 
especially  the  fact  that,  in  many  cases,  the  owners 
of  the  swamp  lands  were  originally  engaged  in  the 
cultivation   of   rice;    a  product   very    profitable    as   an 


66 

article  of  commerce  and  at  the  same  time  requiring  a 
low,  wet  soil  for  its  production.  In  the  now  historical 
days  of  slavery  in  this  country,  these  very  swamps  were 
the  embodiments  of  hell  upon  earth,  and  more  than  one 
poor  man  and  woman,  who  was  compelled  to  labor  in 
them  up  to  their  knees  in  mud  and  water,  if  they  were 
alive,  could  by  their  broken  constitutions,  scarred  backs 
and  debased  intellects,  bear  witness  to  the  veracity  of 
this  statement.  Kind  reader  if  your  humanity  has  been 
spared  the  shock  of  beholding  the  poorly  fed  bodies  of 
these  human  chattels  clad  in  filthy  rags  grubbing  in 
these  rice  swamps,  with  their  wives  and  little  ones  beside 
them,  while  the  suckling  babe  at  the  quarters  moaned 
for  its  mother  that  came  not  to  minister  its  scant}'  needs, 
thank  God  that  your  lot  has  been  cast  in  other  times  and 
a  more  genial  clime. 

Such  a  district  as  we  have  been  describing  we  were 
to  traverse,  and  even  while  these  thoughts  have  been 
revolving  in  our  mind,  we  have  neared  the  "  Great 
Dismal  Swamp."  The  writer  has  never  consulted  any 
authoritative  record  with  reference  to  the  dimensions 
of  this  swamp,  but  judging  from  the  statements  of  the 
inhabitants  in  that  locality,  it  covers  an  area  of  more 
than  ten  square  miles.  The  waters  of  this  swamp  are 
for  the  greater  part  covered  with  a  rich  green  scum, 
suggestive  of  fevers  and  agues ;  the  cypress  trees  which 
are  indigenous  to  it  are   curtained  and  fringed  with  a 


67 

heavy  drapery  of  gray  moss,  which  depends  like  a  heavy 
pall  from  the  limbs  that  shoot  out  horizontally  from  the 
bodies  thereof;  and  no  man  has  yet  fathomed  all  the 
mysteries  of  its  dark  and  forbidding  fastnesses,  which 
are  said  to  be  the  haunts  of  all  that  is  vile  and  hurtful 
either  of  beasts,  birds,  reptiles,  or  even  humanity,  peculiar 
to  that  part  of  the  South.  Within  its  recesses  the  wild 
boar  and  black  bear  fraternize  with  each  other;  the 
moccasin  and  the  poisonous  rattlesnake  intertwine  in 
deadly  embrace;  while  the  highway  robber  and  liber- 
tine, secure  within  its  haunts,  hold  high  carnival 
together.  It  makes  one  shudder  to  recall  the  gloomy 
place  to  mind  and  the  terrible  legends  connected  with 
it.  But  to  appreciate  this  feeling,  heightened  and 
intensified  in  the  bosom  until  it  becomes  to  be  a  veritable 
horror,  one  must  pass  through  this  section  after  night- 
fall ;  when  the  light  of  the  moon  and  stars  is  veiled  by 
the  thick  fogs  and  mists  that  overhang  it,  and  almost 
Egyptian  darkness  pervades  the  atmosphere;  and  the 
hootings  of  the  night  owl  and  the  harsh  croakings  of 
the  multitudinous  amphibious  creatures  are  heard,  and 
a  certain  damp  chill  possesses  the  blood,  causing  one  to 
involuntarily  draw  his  cloak  more  tightly  around  him, 
and  clutch  his  bridle  and  revolver,  as  he  anxiously  spurs 
forward  his  excited  horse  to  a  less  dismal  locality.  It 
was  in  this  swamp  that  the  Lowrie  brothers,  championed 
by  the  redoubtable  Henry  Berry  Lowrie  made  their  place 


68 

of  resort;  from  whence  he  issued  his  commands  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  surrounding  country,  which  were 
almost  implicitly  obeyed,  and  filled  all  with  consterna- 
tion by  reason  of  his  frequent  incursions;  and  it  was  in 
the  interior  of  this  very  swamp  where  he  bad  his  den 
established  when  visited  by  a  representative  of  the  New 
York  Herald,  in  the  year  1S70,  for  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  an  interview,  an  achievement  never  attempted 
nor  even  thought  of  by  any  of  the  provincial  papers  in 
"  Dixie's  Land." 

It  appears  that  during  the  Southern  rebellion  various 
and  sundry  acts  of  ill-treatment  had  been  visited  upon 
different  members  of  the  Lowrie  family,  which  extended 
to  the  murdering  of  one  or  more  of  them  by  persons 
connected  with  the  Confederate  service.  To  avenge 
these  wrongs  and  compensate  their  injured  feelings,  the 
brothers  Lowrie  took  the  held,  or  swamp,  where  ere  long 
they  were  joined  by  other  kindred  spirits  in  that  locality, 
to  the  number  of  a  dozen  or  more.  They  were  thoroughly 
armed,  and  fully  resolved  on  mischief.  After  night-fall 
they  were  in  the  habit  of  scouring  the  neighborhood, 
plundering  hen-roosts, burning  barns  and  dwellings,  and 
in  some  instances  murdering  men.  They  lugged  off 
their  booty  into  the  swamp  and  devoured  it,  when  they 
were  ready  to  engage  in  other  enterprises.  One  of 
their  gang  was  captured,  tried,  convicted  and  hung. 
Dire  were  the  threats  thrown  out  against  every  man  of 


69 

any  standing  in  that  community  by  Lowrie  and  his 
confreres,  conditioned  upon  the  execution  of  their 
brother  robber;  loud  were  their  curses;  but  they  availed 
not;  he  was  hung  at  the  appointed  time,  and  the  majesty 
of  the  law  vindicated.  The  chief  and  his  gang  became 
finally  to  be  so  audacious  that  at  times  they  would 
actually  present  themselves  at  the  railroad  stations, 
armed  cap-a-pie,  to  the  great  embarrassment  of  every 
one.  On  such  occasions  they  would  demand,  and  gen- 
erally received  the  latest  newspapers,  containing  in  some 
instances  full  accounts  of  their  diabolical  doings;  they 
cracked  jokes  and  laughed  heartily  over  them,  and  then 
departed  for  parts  unknown.  So  great  was  the  appre- 
hension on  the  part  of  the  substantial  residents  in  that 
vicinity  that  they  not  only  offered  a  large  reward  for  the 
body  of  the  ringleader,  dead  or  alive,  but  also  procured 
a  much  larger  reward  to  be  offered  by  the  State  officials; 
and  as  a  last  resort,  by  command  of  the  Governor,  all  the 
available  troops  of  the  State  of  North  Carolina,  num- 
bering several  thousands,  under  capable  officers,  were 
marched  to  the  margin  of  the  swamp  and  encamped. 
Here  they  remained  for  a  lengthy  period  of  time,  expe- 
riencing all  the  incidents,  save  physical  wounds, 
incidental  to  actual  warfare.  They  stretched  a  cordon 
of  troops  for  a  long  distance  on  the  margin  of  the 
swamp,  in  the  vain  endeavor  to  entrap  him;  and  sent 
out  scouts  and  spies  to    ferret  him   out  of  his  hiding 


70 

place.  Vain  hope!  All  these  efforts  were  destined  to 
prove  abortive;  and  the  uniformed  militia,  after  indulg- 
ing their  vanity  and  rubbing  up  their  tactics  for  as  long 
a  time  as  the  State  would  endure  the  expense,  marched 
their  troops  back  again  and  disbanded  them,  to  be 
referred  to  by  future  historians  and  placed  by  the  side 
of  the  illustrious  individual  of  whom  the  poet  sings: 

"  The  King  of  the  French,  with  sixty  thousand  men, 
Marched  up  the  hill,  and  then  marched  down  again." 

There  is  an  end  to  all  things  terrestrial  however,  and  the 
career  of  Henry  Berry  Lowrie  was  no  exception  to  the 
rule.  He  was  finally  surprised  and  shot  while  seeking 
shelter  and  medical  care  in  the  house  of  a  relative,  and 
thus  ended  the  career  of  a  man  who  in  a  just  cause  could 
have  earned  undying  honors,  but  b^  the  force  of 
circumstances  was  led  to  pursue  a  course  which 
both  stamped  his  name  with  infamy  and  brought  deso- 
lation and  grief  into  many  households.  After  his  death 
the  band  dispersed  and  so  far  as  the  writer  knows  ceased 
their  organized  depredations. 

There  is  just  one  other  association  connected  with 
this  dismal  swamp,  which  the  writer  will  glance  at 
before  closing  this  chapter:  We  refer  to  the  fact  that, 
in  the  reign  of  the  slave  driver  and  blood  hound  in  the 
sunny  South,  many  a  poor  panting  fugitive  dragged 
his  lacerated  limbs  within  its  dark  recesses,  where  for 
months,  subsisting  upon  such  animal  and  vegetable  food 


71 
as  he  could  gather,  with  a  gnarled  root  for  his  pillow, 
and  the  broad  canopy  of  Heaven  spread  out  over  him, 
he  found  that  freedom  and  respite  from  his  woes  which 
the  laws  of  his  native  land  refused  him. 

Of  these,  scores  might  be  mentioned  by  name;  but 
suffice  it  to  speak  of  just  one,  at  this  place.  He  was  an 
aged  man;  he  said  his  name  was  Pompey;  we  met  him 
on  a  "First  Monday,"  on  the  Public  Square,  in  Hudson 
ville,  where  he  had  wandered  in  search  of  a  little  assist- 
ance in  the  evening  of  his  eventful  life. 

"Hone}7,"  he  said,  "vvhar  did  you  come  from?  You 
is  from  de  Norf,  ain't  you?" 

"Why  do  you  ask  me  that  question,  uncle?  do  I  look 
like  a  Yankee?" 

"  Well  no,  you  looks  like  our  people,  but  den  dare  is 
somefin  bout  yer  way  of  talkin  dat  souns  like  de  Norf." 

"  Well,  to  be  truthful  with  you,  uncle,  I  was  born  in 
the  South,  but  raised  in  the  North." 

"Jest  as  T  spected.  Den  you  don't  know  nuffln  bout 
de  hard  trials  of  de  callud  people  in  dis  part  of  de 
country,  does  yer?" 

"  Well  no,  uncle,  except  what  I  have  read,  and  heard 
from  the  lips  of  the  old  folks.  I  suppose  you  know  a 
good  deal  about  them." 

"  Well,  does  you  see  dat  scar  ober  dat  eye?  Dat  was 
made  by  a  rawhide  in  de  hans  ob  de  oberseer;  an  dat 


72 

mark  on  my  neck  dar  was  made  by  one  of  Mars  George's 
nouns;  dey  had  me  buried  in  de  groun  up  to  my  arms, 
and  de  dog  he  got  loose  an  bit  me,  an  ef  dey  hadn't 
took  him  offen  me  as  soon  as  dey  did,  he  would  er  killed 
me.  But  that's  nothin;  ef  you  cud  see  my  back,  honey, 
yer  wouldn't  ask  me  any  more  ef  I  no  ennything  bout 
ole  slave  days.  Once  I  run  away,  an  lived  in  de  big 
swamp  fer  more'n  three  months.  I  staid  in  dat  swamp 
tell  I  didn't  have  nuff  close  hardly  to  cover  a  skeeter, 
(an  de  skeeters  was  mighty  big  down  dar)  an  1  guess  I 
would  er  died  thar  ef  Mars  George  hadn't  sent  one  ob 
de  hans  an  promised  me  dat  ef  I  wud  come  back,  de 
oberseer  shouldn't  whip  me  enny  more;  an  he  kep  his 
word  an  I  neber  got  anodder  whippin  after  dat.  An  to 
tell  you  de  troof,  chile,  I  was  glad  nuff  to  git  out  ob  dat 
swamp  an  git  some  more  close  on  agin,  fer  it  was  almos' 
as  bad  as  deth  to  live  in  dar  wid  de  snakes  an  varmints. 
At  fust  it  made  me  sick,  but  arter  I  hed  lived  in  dar 
about  a  monf,  I  wus  as  hard  as  a  litewood  not,  an  nuffln 
cud  hurt  me." 

Poor  old  man;  he  was  scarred,  and  crippled,  and 
bent  with  age,  but  he  had  lived  to  see  the  dawn  of  glo- 
rious liberty,  and  like  a  good  old  christian  that  he  was, 
he  thanked  God  and  took  courage. 

But  where  are  we  now?  We  have  left  the  Dismal 
Swamp  far  behind,  we  have  passed  the  thirty-five  mile 
post,  and  already  Brown,  who  has  from  the  beginning 


73 

of  the  journey  taken  the  lead,  has  driven  up  to  the  gate 
in  front  of  a  rude  log  house  and  lowered  the  bars.  It  is 
the  house  of  an  acquaintance,  we  suppose,  where  we  are 
to  seek  repose  during  the  remainder  of  the  night;  and 
we  are  all  rejoiced,  for  we  are  weary  with  the  excite- 
ment and  turmoil  of  the  day,  and  sadly  in  need  of  rest. 


TV 


CHAPTEE  VI. 


The  Bell  Homestead. — Accommodations  for  the  Night. — The 
Black  Cat. — My  Wife  Alarmed. — An  Unfortunate  Throw,  and 
Alarm  of  the  Family.— Mine  Host  Jones,  and  the  Writer  Adjourn 
to  the  Yard. — Snake  Stories. — Snakes  in  the  House ;  in  the  Bed  ; 
in  the  Mill. — Snake  Bites  and  Whiskey  Treatment. — "Coachwhip 
Snake." — Snakes  for  Food. — Medicine  and  Music. — Reminiscences 
of  the  Slaveholding  Era,  by  Jones. — The  Men  and  Women  who 
Cleared  and  Cultivated  these  Lands. — The  Whip. — The  Auction 
Block. — The  Stocks. — Insufficient  Food. — Dawn  of  Day. 


The  Bell  homestead  was  a  typical  one  in  that  portion  of 
the  South,  and  presuming  that  a  majority  of  our  readers 
have  never  visited  that  interesting  section,  we  shall  es- 
say a  description  of  it.  The  lot  of  land  on  which  the 
house  was  built  was  enclosed  by  a  fence  made  of  slats, 
which  were  wattled  instead  of  being  nailed  on.  The 
house  was  constructed  of  logs;  the  crevices  or  chinks 
between  which  were  filled  with  clay,  by  which  means  the 
inclement  elements  were  kept  out.  The  chimney  to  this 
house  was  constructed  of  short  poles  so  piled  as  to  lap 
each  other  at  the  corners,  until  they  reached  a  sufficient 
height:  the  whole  was  then  plastered  over  with  clay 
both  within  and  without.  Instead  of  sash  containing 
panes  of  glass,  the  windows,  which  were  merely  square 
apertures,  were  provided  with  "  shutters,"  hung  with  strap 


75 

hinges  and  having  hooks  and  staples  for  fastenings;  the 
roof  was  covered  with  slats  similar  to  those  of  which  the 
fence  was  constructed  and  the  whole  presented  a  very 
unique  appearance;  carrying  the  mind  back  to  the 
advent  of  the  early  settlers  in  this  country.  On  the 
outside  of  this  house,  between  each  window  and  the  door 
in  the  center,  was  hung  a  stretched  coon  skin  in  course 
of  bring  "cured"  for  the  market.  The  interior  of  this 
primitive  house  was  scarcely  less  romantic  in  appearance. 
The  fire  place  was  capacious,  sufficiently  so  to  allow  of 
a  whole  log  of  wood  being  put  on  the  large  iron  andirons 
at  one  time,  while  the  soot}'  trammels  suspended  in  the 
center,  seemed  to  await  the  advent  of  the  big  pot  in  the 
corner,  containing  its  accustomed  supply  of  fat  meat, 
collards  and  dumplings  for  the  daily  dinner.  In  one 
corner  of  the  house  was  a  large  blue  chest,  the  counter- 
part, I  imagine,  of  the  one  that  tradition  tells  us  a  fair 
damsel  in  that  locality,  ''upon  a  time,"  hid  her  greatly 
embarrassed  beau  in,  upon  the  sudden  coming  of  her 
austere  sire.  This  chest  served  a  triple  purpose;  it 
contained  all  the  spare  bed  clothing  and  wearing  ap- 
parrel  of  the  family,  furnished  seating  for  at  least  three 
persons  during  the  day,  and  answered  the  purpose  of  a 
bedstead  upon  which  one  of  the  younger  members  of 
the  family  was  accustomed  to  sleep  at  night. 

There  was  only  one  bedstead  in  the  house,  and  this 
was  very  considerately  placed  at  the  disposal  of  Mrs. 


76 

Brown,  who  had  the  care  of  an  infant  not  exceeding 
three  months  in  age.  Brown  himself  had  left  the 
remainder  of  the  company,  in  quest  of  recreation  as  well 
as  to  try  to  "  see  a  man  "  in  that  neighborhood  who  had 
a  brother  in  New  York  that  had  been  to  him  a  boon 
companion  during  his  sojurn  there,  prior  to  locating  in 
Hudsonville.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jones  and  m}r  own  clear 
better  half  were  given  pallets  on  the  floor,  upon  which  to 
fight  mosquitoes  and  seek  repose,  and,  the  night  being 
warm  and  sultry,  the  absence  of  ordinary  bed  clothing 
was  not  regretted.  Urrder  the  influence  of  the  fatigue 
that  was  oppressing  the  writer,  not  many  moments 
elapsed  before  he  was  within  the  kindly  embrace  of 
Morpheus,  enjoying  the  sweets  of  nature's  balmy 
restorer;  in  other  words,  asleep.  I  had  not  slept  more 
than  thirty  seconds,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  though  in 
reality  about  two  hours,  when  I  was  awakened  from  my 
slumber  and  again  confronted  with  the  realities  of  this 
practical  life  by  hearing  my  wife  exclaim  "  scat!"  I 
sprang  to  my  feet  and  demanded  of  her  the  cause  of  her 
alarm,  when,  gasping,  she  whispered:  "See  that  cat 
over  there!     See  how  his  eyeballs  flash!" 

"  Where?"  I  asked,  rubbing  my  eyes. 

"Over  there;    don't  you  see  him?" 

"  What  is  it,  my  dear?"  I  said.  "  I  don't  see  any- 
thing; it's  too  dark  to  see." 

"  Well,   I  guess  you  can  see  that  cat's   big    eyes 


77 

flashing  over  in  the  direction  of  your  left  hand,  can't 
you?  }rou  old  sleepy-head,  you,"  she  fairly  shouted. 
"  Anything  could  carry  Johnnie  away  for  aught  that 
you  care  for  him.  You  have  been  sleeping  here  just 
like  a  log,  while  I  have  been  trying  to  keep  that  miser- 
able old  cat  from  sucking  his  breath  or  eating  his  nose 
off." 

"  There,  there,  my  love,"  I  said;  "don't  fret  now,  and 
just  see  how  I  shall  punish  that  feline.  I  will  let  him 
know  that  there  be  powers  upon  earth  competent  to 
pursue,  overtake  and  punish  evildoers;  and  if  he  don't 
spot  me  as  his  Nemesis  from  this  night  onward  then  I 
ain't  worth  a  cent  for  a  throw."  So  saying,  I  sum- 
moned all  the  powers  within  me,  and  hurled  one  of  my 
boots  in  the  direction  of  the  "  flashing  eyes."  Jones 
sprang  to  his  feet  and,  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  inquired 
whether  the  lightning  had  struck  any  one  else.  The 
whole  family  was  now  thoroughl}"  aroused ;  a  tallow  dip 
was  lit;  an  explanation  followed,  and  it  was  definitely 
ascertained  that  the  injury  sustained  Ixy  Jones  was  not 
of  a  serious  nature. 

After  this  occurrence,  the  most  earnest  persuasion 
failed  to  induce  our  injured  companion  to  lie  down  upon 
his  pallet  again ;  and  as  the  night  was  already  far  spent, 
it  was  unanimously  concluded  by  the  three  that  we 
should  adjourn  to  the  bench  under  the  tree  in  the  front 
yard,  where  we  could  improve  the  balance  of  the  night 


78 

while  the  women  and  children  were  sleeping.  Once 
there,  I  asked  Mr.  Bell  why  he  kept  such  a  big  cat 
around  the  house,  inasmuch  as  her  practices  were  of  a 
character  most  dangerous  to  little  children,  of  which  he 
had  several.  "  Oh,"  said  Mr.  Bell,  "  I  don't  know  what's 
the  matter  with  that  cat  to-night.  He  never  did  act  so 
before,  and  we've  raised  'im  from  a  little  kitten.  He 
never  dreamed  of  troubling  any  of  my  children. 
Mebbe  it's  because  your  baby  is  a  strange  one.  Have 
yer  got  any  'backer,  stranger?"  he  said,  digressing,  as 
he  turned  to  Jones.  He  was  answered  in  the  affirmative. 
"I  wish  yer  would  gimme  a  chaw;  mine's  in  the  house, 
an  I  don't  like  to  worry  the  wimmin  enny  more  tonight. 
Another  thing,"  he  continued,  "that  cat's  one  of  the 
best  mousers  in  the  world;  and  as  fer  ketchin'  snakes 
and  lizai'ds,  he  can't  be  beat.  Why,  partner,  he  handles 
a  snake  jest  like  enny  dog,  ef  yer  can  call  it  handlin' 
when  a  critter  ain't  got  enny  hands;  an  I  wish  yer  could 
jest  see  him  once.  Last  fall,  jest  afore  cold  weather,  my 
little  Tomm}%  the  red  headed  one  that  Brown  took  sick 
a  shine  to  this  evenin',  was  playin'  behint  the  shed  door, 
an'  the  ole  ooman  went  ter  see  what  mischief  he  was  in, 
cause  he  kep  so  still,  (an'  that's  a  shore  sign  of  mischief 
among  children)  when  lo  an'  behold,  rite  in  a  box  that 
sot  behint  the  door,  quiled  up  thar  la}-  a  snake!  an'  the 
3Toung  un  he  stood  thar  with  a  stick  in  his  little  han\ 
jest  in  the  act  of  strikin'  uv  it.     The  ole  ooman  didn't 


79 

say  a  single  word;  she  jest  took  the  chile  by  his  han' 
an'  led  him  away,  then  she  got  '  Old  Sam/  that's  the  cat. 
an'  put  him  on  that  varmint;  an1  pardner  you  kin  believe 
what  I  tell  you  or  not,  jest  as  you  please,  but  its  the 
Lord's  truth  howsumever,  the  cat  took  that  snake  by  the 
back  of  the  head  with  his  mouth  an'  give  it  one  jerk, 
an'  made  it  crack  like  a  whip;  he  jerked  every  bone  in 
its  body  loose;  an'  when  he  put  it  down  it  had  no  more 
life  in  it  than  a  wooden  snake.'' 

Great  surprise  was  expressed,  by  us  at  the  wonder- 
ful familiarity  of  the  snake,  in  entering  the  house  so 
unceremoniously.  "Pshaw,"  said  Bell,  ''that's  not -a 
sarcumstance!  Why  last  summer,  in  August,  I  think, 
Jim  Cross,  who  lives  on  Uncle  Sandy  Glover's  planta- 
tion, woke  up  one  mornin'  feelin'  somethin1  crawlin'  over 
him;  he  did'nt  tech  it;  he  jest  raised  up  his  head  a 
leetle  bit  and  seed  it  was  a  rattle  snake  about  four  feet 
long;  then  he  -lay  down  agin  an  let  it  pass  over  him. 
Cause  yer  see,  he  was  afeerd  that  ef  he  tried  to  git  away, 
the  snake  would  take  the  hint  and  bite  him — see?"  We 
answered  that  we  did  see  very  plainly  indeed. 

"Well  my  friend,"  I  said,  ''snakes  must  be  no 
strangers  to  you  people  around  here,  at  that  rate." 

"No  siree,"  said  Mr.  Bell,  "they  aint;  an  what's 
more'n  that,  we  uses  them:  in  some  cases,  we  makes 
them  arn  ther  livin." 


80 

"Earn  their  living!  why  what  do  you  mean,  my 
friend?"  I  said. 

"  I  mean  what  I  say,"  he  replied,  "  Ole  Mr.  Jenkins, 
over  thar  that  runs  the  grist  mill,  has  got  two  white 
moccasins,  that  he  has  trained  to  ketch  rats  an  mice,  an 
you  can't  find  a  rat  or  a  mouse  about  his  mill  fer  money, 
but  afore  he  got  them  snaix,  he  could' nt  git  rid  uv  sich 
critters.  Them  snaix  goes  into  every  hole  and  crack 
about  the  mill,  whar  dogs  an'  cats  can't  go;  an'  wharever 
they  go,  the  varmints  leave." 

"How  is  it,"  we  inquired,  "  that  some  of  you  don't 
get  bit,  seeing  that  snakes  are  crawling  around  so 
promiscuously?  " 

"  Lawful  sakes,  man,  we  does.  It  ain't  been  a  month 
sence  a  ooman  was  bit  near  the  big  swamp  by  a  rattle- 
snake, an'  she  turned  as  black  as  that  cat  they  say,  (I 
didn't  see  her) ;  an'  all  that  the  doctors  could  do  for  her 
didn't  save  her;  she  died." 

"  Do  the  bites  of  snakes  always  prove  so  fatal?"  we 
asked. 

"Well,  no;  not  ef  yer  begins  in  time.  Thar  was  a 
boy  bit  around  here  a  year  or  two  ago  by  a  rattlesnake, 
an'  he  didn't  die.  His  mother  follered  the  docter's 
directions  to  a  T,  an'  he  got  over  it.  The  docter  told 
her  not  ter  give  him  enny  water  for  nine  days — nothin' 
but  tea;  an'  she  didn't.  Some  mothers  I  know  would  ef 
given  it  to  him,  fer  the  boy  cried  an'  begged  for  water 


81 

untel  it  almost  broke  the  poor  mother's  heart,  but  nary 
a  drop  did  she  give  'im.  Birnebj?-  the  boy  got  well;  an1 
he's  runnin'  around  now  as  lively  as  ennybody. 
But  there's  other  ways  uvtreatin'  uv  'em.  Some  docters 
foller  the  whiskey  treatment;  that  is  ter  say  they  giv' 
'em  nothin'  but  whiskey;  keep  'em  filled  up  with  it  tell 
the  danger  is  over;  an'  they  say  it's  the  shorest  an' 
easiest  way  uv  doctorin'  for  snake  bites  uv  'em  all.  A 
feller  by  the  name  uvBill  Bedford  got  bit  over  at  Kane's 
Mill-pond  last  spring.  He  had  some  whiske}T  in  his 
pocket  in  a  bottle,  an'  without  waitin'  fer  docter  or  enny 
body  else  he  up  an'  drunk  the  hull  uv  it.  Then  he  went 
home  an'  sent  fer  the  docter,  an'  the  docter  give  him 
more  an  kep'  him  under  the  influence  uv  it  fer  more'n 
nine  days,  an'  he  got  well." 

During  the  narration  of  the  last  incident,  Brown  had 
come  upon  the  scene,  and  stood  apparentl}T  deeply 
absorbed  in  thought  while  the  mysteries  of  the  whiskey 
treatment  were  being  unfolded  by  our  host.  At  its  con- 
clusion he  desired  to  know  whether  that  school  of 
medicine  was  still  in  vogue  there,  and,  on  being  answered 
in  the  affirmative,  exclaimed,  "  Well,  then,  fetch  along 
3Tour  snakes,  gentlemen ! " 

"  Where  on  earth  have  you  been,  Brown  !  "  exclaimed 
Jones.  "  Here  the  children  has  been  crying,  and  cousin 
John  has  tried  to  knock  my  brains  out  throwing  at  the 
cat,  and  nowhere  could  you  be  found." 


84 

"Yes,"  said  Bell,  "he  died  last  January;  an'  thar 
was'nt  enny  uv  his  old  slaves  at  his  funeral;  in  lac', 
nofapdy  seemed  to  have  a  good  word  to  say  for  him." 

"Indeed!'1  said  Brown,  "that  reminds  me  of  an  old 
fellow  who  died  in  New  York,  when  I  was  there;  and 
when  he  was  buried,  no  one  of  all  who  stood  around  his 
grave  had  £*;good  word  to  say  for  him,  because  he  had 
lived  such  a^miserly  life;  finally,  as  the  clods  began 
to  fall  upon  hi-SKbox,  and  make  a  hollow  sound,  one  Mr. 
Schneider  who  stood  by,  sighed  deeply  and  exclaimed — 
"  veil,  he  vass  a  g'oot  schmoker  any  vay !  " 

"  Oh,  Brown,  do  go  along!"  exclaimed  cousin  Henry, 
"  you  are  always  putting  in  a  lot  of  nonsense.  I  believe 
if  you  were  at  the  funeral  of  your  best  friend  you  would 
crack  a  joke  at  his  expense,  even  if  it  killed  you/' 

"Colonel  Huckleby,"  said  Jones,  "was  one  of  the 
most  cruel  slave-owners  I  ever  knew,  and  I  have  known 
some  pretty  hard  cases  in  my  time.  It  was  a  common 
saying  all  through  this  country  that  you  could  tell  one 
of  Huckleby's  slaves  at  sight,  from  his  scared  appear- 
ance and  disheartened  look.  He  was  the  only  man  in 
this  part  of  the  South  that  branded  his  slaves  with  a 
hot  iron,  to  mark  them.  He  had  a  slave  by  the  name  of 
Mose,  whom  he  had  bought  of  a  speculator.  Well, 
Mose  had  been  raised  by  a  different  kind  of  man  from 
what  old  Huckleby  was,  and  when  he  began  to  whip 
him  and  brand  him,  Mose  took  to  the  swamp  and  stayed 


81 

imtel  it  almost  broke  the  poor  mother's  heart,  but  nary 
a  drop  did  she  give  'im.  Bimeby  the  boy  got  well;  an' 
he's  runnin'  around  now  as  lively  as  ennybody. 
But  there's  other  waj~s  uv  treatin'  uv  'em.  Some  docters 
foller  the  whiskey  treatment;  that  is  ter  say  they  giv' 
'em  nothin'  but  whiskey;  keep  'em  filled  up  with  it  tell 
the  danger  is  over;  an'  they  sa}T  it's  the  shorest  an' 
easiest  way  uv  doctorin"  for  snake  bites  uv  'em  all.  A 
feller  by  the  name  uvBill  Bedford  got  bit  over  at  Kane's 
Mill-pond  last  spring.  He  had  some  whiskey  in  his 
pocket  in  a  bottle,  an'  without  waitin'  fer  doctor  or  enny 
body  else  he  up  an'  drunk  the  hull  uv  it.  Then  he  went 
home  an'  sent  fer  the  doctor,  an'  the  doctor  give  him 
more  an  kep'  him  under  the  influence  uv  it  fer  more'n 
nine  days,  an'  he  got  well." 

During  the  narration  of  the  last  incident,  Brown  had 
come  upon  the  scene,  and  stood  apparently  deeply 
absorbed  in  thought  while  the  mysteries  of  the  whiskey 
treatment  were  being  unfolded  by  our  host.  At  its  con- 
clusion he  desired  to  know  whether  that  school  of 
medicine  was  still  in  vogue  there,  and,  on  being  answered 
in  the  affirmative,  exclaimed,  "  Well,  then,  fetch  along 
your  snakes,  gentlemen  !  *' 

"  Where  on  earth  have  you  been,  Brown!  "  exclaimed 
Jones.  "  Here  the  children  has  been  crying,  and  cousin 
John  has  tried  to  knock  my  brains  out  throwing  at  the 
cat,  and  nowhere  could  you  be  found." 


84 

"Yes,"  said  Bell,  "he  died  last  January;  an'  thar 
was'nt  enny  uv  his  old  slaves  at  his  funeral;  in  fac', 
nobody  seemed  to  have  a  good  word  to  say  for  him." 

"Indeed!  "  said  Brown,  "that  reminds  me  of  an  old 
fellow  who  died  in  New  York,  when  I  was  there;  and 
when  he  was  buried,  no  one  of  all  who  stood  around  his 
grave  had  a  good  word  to  say  for  him,  because  he  had 
lived  such  a  miserly  life;  finally,  as  the  clods  began 
to  fall  upon  his  box,  and  make  a  hollow  sound,  one  Mr. 
Schneider  who  stood  by,  sighed  deeply  and  exclaimed — 
"  veil,  he  vass  a  goot  schmoker  any  vayl  " 

"  Oh,  Brown,  do  go  along!"  exclaimed  cousin  Henry, 
"  you  are  alwaj^s  putting  in  a  lot  of  nonsense.  I  believe 
if  you  were  at  the  funeral  of  your  best  friend  you  would 
crack  a  joke  at  his  expense,  even  if  it  killed  you."' 

"Colonel  Huckleby,"  said  Jones,  "was  one  of  the 
most  cruel  slave-owners  I  ever  knew,  and  I  have  known 
some  pretty  hard  cases  in  my  time.  It  was  a  common 
saying  all  through  this  country  that  you  could  tell  one 
of  Huckleby's  slaves  at  sight,  from  his  scared  appear- 
ance and  disheartened  look.  He  was  the  only  man  in 
this  part  of  the  South  that  branded  his  slaves  with  a 
hot  iron,  to  mark  them.  He  had  a  slave  by  the  name  of 
Mose,  whom  he  had  bought  of  a  speculator.  Well, 
Mose  had  been  raised  by  a  different  kind  of  man  from 
what  old  Huckleby  was,  and  when  he  began  to  whip 
him  and  brand  him,  Mose  took  to  the  swamp  and  stayed 


85 

there  until  he  had  to  come  out  to  keep  from  starving, 
when  the  hounds  tracked  him  and  he  was  captured. 
Then  Huckleby  took  him  and  whipped  him  until  he 
fainted,  when  he  washed  the  wounds  with  brine  and 
locked  him  up  until  he  was  able  to  work  again.  Then 
he  took  him  to  the  blacksmith  shop  at  the  quarters  and 
had  an  iron  hoop  riveted  around  him,  with  an  upright 
piece  that  reached  about  ten  inches  above  his  head,  to 
which  he  fastened  a  bell,  so  that  if  Mose  ran  away 
again  he  could  track  him  by  the  sound  of  the  bell,  just 
as  we  do  cows." 

"Was  he  successful? "  we  asked. 
"No  indeed!  for  Mose  ran  awa}T  again  the  first  chance 
he  got,  and  when  he  came  to  the  first  mud  hole  he  plunged 
the  bell  into  it  and  got  it  so  full  it  wouldn't  ring 
any  more,  and  old  Huckleby  never  did  find  him  again 
until  after  the  Emancipation  Proclamation,  when  he  did 
n't  dare  to  touch  him.  Why,  cousin,"  continued  Jones, 
"the  very  men,  women  and  children  who  cultivated 
these  lands  for  him,  were  not  properly  fed !  I  know  it 
was  hard  for  the  poor  slaves  to  be  bought  and  sold  at 
auction,  and  separated  from  their  parents  and  children 
and  husbands  and  wives,  and  it  was  awfulby  cruel  to 
whip  them  so,  but  do  you  know,  cousin,  I  always  con- 
sidered it  a  greater  hardship  for  them  to  be  overworked 
and  poorby  fed,  than  either  of  the  others." 
"  Indeed !  "  I  said. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


Incidents  of  the  Route. — Post  Boxes. — Mineral  Springs. — 
Floral  College. — The  Duello. — Reminiscences  of  School  Life  in 
the  South  Before  the  War. — An  Oasis. — A  Foraging  Expedition. 
— Difference  between  Southern  and  Northern  Hospitality. — Win- 
ning our  Fodder  by  a  Stratagem. — Our  Repast  and  Departure. 


The  refreshment  afforded  to  the  weaker  portion  of 
our  families  had  produced  its  desired  effect,  and  once 
again  the  little  ones  appeared  in  all  that  mirthfulness 
and  vivacity  which  is  wont  to  characterize  and  mark 
the  contrast  between  them  and  "  children  of  an  older 
growth;'1  and  when  we  say  that  it  made  the  heart  leap 
but  to  witness  their  joy,  I  only  re-echo  the  sentiment 
of  every  one  of  our  party  on  that  occcasion.  The 
female  portion  of  our  little  party  also  wore  a  more 
cheerful  look  upon  their  countenances  than  the}7  had 
during  the  last  half  of  the  day  previous,  and  in  truth  it 
was  not  to  be  wondered  at,  for  the  very  presence  of  the 
great  swamp,  along  the  margin  of  which  the  greater 
part  of  our  road  lay  during  that  time,  was  sufficient  to 
chill  the  blood  within  us  and  repress  every  sentiment  of 
joy  and  mirth.  But  we  had  now  arrived  at  a  portion  of 
the  journey  where  our  route  lay  through  a  more  hospit- 
able  region ;    where  waters  gave  place  to   white  sands ; 


there  until  lie  had  to  come  out  to  keep  from  starving, 
when  the  hounds  tracked  him  and  he  was  captured. 
Then  Huckleby  took  him  and  whipped  him  until  he 
fainted,  when  he  washed  the  wounds  with  brine  and 
locked  him  op  until  he  was  able  to  work  again.  Then 
he  took  him  to  the  blacksmith  shop  at  the  quarters  and 
had  an  iron  hoop  riveted  around  him,  with  an  upright 
piece  that  reached  about  ten  inches  above  his  head,  to 
which  he  fastened  a  bell,  so  that  if  Mose  ran  away 
again  he  could  track  him  by  the  sound  of  the  bell,  just 
as  we  do  cows.'" 

"Was  he  successful?"  we  asked. 
"No  indeed!  for  Mose  ran  away  again  the  first  chance 
he  got,  and  when  he  came  to  the  first  mud  hole  he  plunged 
the  bell  into  it  and  got  it  so  full  it  wouldn't  ring 
an}'  more,  and  old  Huckleby  never  did  find  him  again 
until  after  the  Emancipation  Proclamation,  when  he  did 
n't  dare  to  touch  him.  Why,  cousin,"*  continued  Jones, 
"the  very  men.  women  and  children  who  cultivated 
these  lands  for  him,  were  not  properly  fed!  I  know  it 
was  hard  for  the  poor  slaves  to  be  bought  and  sold  at 
auction,  and  separated  from  their  parents  and  children 
and  husbands  and  wives,  and  it  was  awfully  cruel  to 
whip  them  so,  but  do  you  know,  cousin,  I  always  con- 
sidered it  a  greater  hardship  for  them  to  be  overworked 
and  poorly  fed,  than  either  of  the  others/' 
"  Indeed!  "   I  said. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


Incidents  of  the  Route. — Post  Boxes. — Mineral  Springs. — 
Floral  College. — The  Duello. — Reminiscences  of  School  Life  in 
the  South  Before  the  War. — An  Oasis. — A  Foraging  Expedition. 
— Difference  between  Southern  and  Northern  Hospitality. — Win- 
ning our  Fodder  by  a  Stratagem. — Our  Repast  and  Departure. 


The  refreshment  afforded  to  the  weaker  portion  of 
our  families  had  produced  its  desired  effect,  and  once 
again  the  little  ones  appeared  in  all  that  mirthfulness 
and  vivacity  which  is  wont  to  characterize  and  mark 
the  contrast  between  them  and  "  children  of  an  older 
growth;1'  and  when  we  say  that  it  made  the  heart  leap 
but  to  witness  their  joy,  I  only  re-echo  the  sentiment 
of  every  one  of  our  party  on  that  occcasion.  The 
female  portion  of  our  little  party  also  wore  a  more 
cheerful  look  upon  their  countenances  than  they  had 
during  the  last  half  of  the  day  previous,  and  in  truth  it 
was  not  to  be  wondered  at,  for  the  very  presence  of  the 
great  swamp,  along  the  margin  of  which  the  greater 
part  of  our  road  lay  during  that  time,  was  sufficient  to 
chill  the  blood  within  us  and  repress  every  sentiment  of 
joy  and  mirth.  But  we  had  now  arrived  at  a  portion  of 
the  journey  where  our  route  lay  through  a  more  hospit- 
able  region;    where  waters  gave  place  to  white  sands; 


89 

where  dismal  cypress  trees,  with  funereal  cast,  gave 
place  to  the  healthful  pine,  with  here  and  there  a  dog- 
wood tree,  in  full  bloom,  and  clambering  hone}Tsuckle : 
where  the  rich  green  scum  of  the  swamp  was  supplanted 
by  nourishing  vegetation,  and  the  carolings  of  mocking 
birds  banished  from  the  mind  the  hootings  of  owls  and 
harsh  croakings  of  amphibious  creatures.  It  was,  in 
truth,  a  most  pleasing  contrast,  well  calculated  to  lead 
one  up  out  of  the  deep  darkness  and  desolation  of 
despair  to  the  light  of  God's  countenance,  and  beget 
reflections  on  the  universal  fitness  of  all  things,  and 
their  adaptation  to  the  uses  for  which  He  hath  created 
them.  But  in  the  midst  of  all  these  natural  beauties  the 
universal  absence  of  artificial  attractions  was  only  made 
more  apparent.  For  miles  and  miles  one  could  travel 
without  encountering  any  work  of  art  bearing  upon  it 
the  stamp  of  man's  genuis.  There  was  to  be  seen  not 
even  the  ruins  of  what  had  once  been  a  human  habita- 
tion of  pretentious  dimensions  or  design ;  and  when  we 
recalled  the  fact  that  we  were  then  traversing  a  state 
upon  which  the  foot  of  the  white  man  trod  many  long 
years  before  a  foothold  was  gained  in  some  of  our  middle 
and  western  states,  that  are  now  crowded  with  hives  of 
industry  and  even  vieing  with  the  old  world  in  the 
extent  and  richness  of  their  architectural  monuments, 
we  could  not  forbear  contrasting  the  difference  between 
the  results   of   labor    free,    untrammeled  by   ignorance 

T2 


90 

and  caste  prejudice,  and  labor  despised  and  enslaved. 
The  one  leaves  the  mind  free  and  filled  with  lofty  am- 
bitions; while  the  other,  seeing  nothing  in  the  present 
or  future  upon  which  it  can  build  its  hopes,  grovels, 
rebels  and  saps  the  very  foundations  of  society.  Every 
thing  we  see  carries  the  mind  back  to  the  most  ancient 
of  times,  when  the  force  of  steam  and  electricity  was 
neither  known  nor  appreciated. 

"Cousin  Henry,"  I  said,  addressing  Jones;  "what 
are  those  little  pigeon-hole  boxes  placed  upon  the  tops  of 
those  posts  for.  I  have  noticed  several  of  them  at 
intervals  of  three  or  four  miles  since  we  left  the 
swamp." 

"  Why,  cousin,"  he  replied,  "  those  are  post  boxes." 

"What?" 

"Post  boxes,  in  which  the  mail  along  this  road  is 
deposited.  Whenever  any  person  has  a  letter  or  news- 
paper (if  he  be  so  fortunate  as  to  get  one)  that  he  wishes 
to  send  off  by  the  mail,  if  he  does  not  feel  disposed  to 
travel  twenty  or  thirty  miles  to  the  nearest  postoffice,  he 
deposits  it  one  of  these  boxes,  from  which  the  mail-boy 
takes  it  when  he  comes  along,  if  it  is  not  stolen  out 
beforehand." 

"Well!"  exclaimed  Brown;  "that  beats  my  time! 
I  have  seen  in  New  York  letter-boxes  fastened  to  lamp- 
posts on  almost  every  corner  for  the  accommodation  of 
such  as  did  not  wish  to  go  to  the  postoffice.     They  were 


91 

strong  iron  boxes,  with  patent  lock  and  key;  but  these 
little  wooden  boxes,  open  at  one  end,  and  nailed  to  the 
tops  of  posts  away  ont  here  in  the  woods,  are  ridiculous 
in  the  extreme.1' 

I  am  not  sure  but  that  Brown  was  more  than  half 
right,  once  in  his  life;  for  these  boxes  were  just  such  as 
Robin,  who  quotes  from  the  early  writers,  tells  us  King 
Cyrus  established  in  Persia  at  least  six  hundred  years 
before  the  Christian  era. 

Among  the  objects  of  natural  interest  also  to  be  seen 
in  various  parts  of  the  country  through  which  we  were 
now  passing  were  refreshing  little  mineral  springs.  We 
were  no  chemists,  and,  even  had  we  been,  we  had  no 
appliances  by  means  of  which  a  satisfactory  analysis 
could  have  been  effected,  therefore  we  are  denied  the 
pleasure  of  laying  before  our  readers  either  a  quantita- 
tive or  qualitative  analysis  of  the  constituent  elements 
of  the  waters  flowing  from  them;  but  Brown,  who  was 
the  first  to  approach  and  drink  from  them,  pronounced 
them  sulphur  springs,  from  the  similarity  of  the  well- 
defined  odor  escaping  from  them  to  that  which  always 
accompanies  boiled  eggs. 

Yankee  capital  and  enterprise  ma}'  some  day  in  the 
not  distant  future  convert  this  wilderness  into  a  blush- 
ing garden,  and  utilize  the  medicinal  virtues  of  these 
flowing  mineral  fountains  for  the  healing  of  diseases  of 
various  kinds  to  which  human  flesh  is  heir;  but  for  the 


92 

present,  at  least,  like  the  wild  flowers  that  cluster  near 
their  margins,  they  must  "waste  their  sweetness  (?)  on 
the  desert  air." 

"But  see,  cousin  Henry!  what  are  those  deserted 
buildings  in  advance  of  us  that  stand  in  the  midst  of 
that  spacious  grove  ?  The}*  are  the  first  visible 
evidences  of  civilization  we  have  met  since  leaving  the 
Bell  residence,  where  we  rested  during  the  last  night." 

"  That,  cousin,"  he  answered,  "is  Floral  College." 

"Floral  College!"  I  repeated  after  him;  "a  pretty 
name  indeed,  and  most  appropriate  too,  when  we  con- 
sider the  surroundings.  When  was  it  established? 
Where  are  the  professors,  the  students  and  other  acces- 
sories of  the  college?  "    I  asked,  in  rapid  succession. 

"  You  ask  me  so  many  questions,"  he  replied,  --  that 
I  hardly  know  where  or  how  to  begin  to  answer  them; 
but  I  shall  do  the  best  I  can.  As  to  the  time  when  it  was 
established,  I  am  not  well  informed,  and  I  can  only  say, 
it  was  before  }Tour  time  and  mine,  during  the  most  flour- 
ishing period  of  American  slavery;  when  the  young 
gentlemen  of  the  South  had  little  else  to  do  than  attend 
school,  practice  the  code  of  honor,  study  the  manual  of 
arms  and  assist  in  keeping  their  parents'  human  chattels 
in  subjection.  Those  were  the  times  when  'Mars  George' 
or  k  Mars  Henry,'  was  accustomed  to  while  away  his 
days  in  idleness,  at  the  expense  of  the  blood  and  toil  of 
others  more  worthy  than  himself,  while  he   was  being 


93 

taught  to  decline  mensa,  or  conjugate  Xuu>,  and  con  the 
classic  pages  of  Greek  and  Roman  literature  for  examples 
upon  which  to  build  a  justification  of  their  peculiar  insti- 
tution. In  that  thicket  to  the  right,  tradition  has  it, 
two  young  men,  becoming  needlessly  offended  at  each 
other  by  reason  of  something  that  had  been  said  or  done, 
fought  in  deadly  combat,  in  imitation  of  their  sires,  and 
the  result  was,  that  while  one  was  borne  to  a  premature 
grave,  the  other  was  doomed  to  a  life  of  seclusion  and 
regret.  Thanks  to  an  enlightened  and  christian  senti- 
ment, this  barbarous  practice  is  now  nearly  extinct  in 
all  civilized  communities.  As  for  the  professors  and 
students,  they  left  at  the  first  alarm  to  try  their  fortunes 
amidst  war's  stern  conflicts.  Some  of  them  fell  at  Bull 
Run,  others  at  Petersburgh  and  Richmond,  while  a  few 
of  the  fortunate  ones  who  lived  to  return  to  their  homes, 
their  wealth  being  swept  away,  found  neither  opportun- 
ity nor  inclination  of  attending  school  or  prosecuting 
their  studies.  Those  little  buildings  clustered  around 
the  larger  ones  were  occupied  by  families  of  the  profes- 
sors or  else  by  those  who  either  took  their  residence 
there  pending  the  instruction  of  their  children,  or  sought 
a  livelihood  in  boarding  pupils  who  were  attending  the 
college." 

"ButwhjV  I  asked,  "did  they  locate  this  institu- 
tion away  out  here  in  the  woods,  so  remote  from  the 
centers  of  civilization?" 


94 

"  Oh,"  he  answered,  "  I  suppose  that  was  to  afford 
the  young  gentlemen  the  advantages  accruing  from  a 
quiet  retreat  in  which  to  prosecute  their  studies,  and  at 
the  same  time  relieve  them  of  the  fatigue  and  expense 
of  a  trip  to  the  woods  in  search  of  logs  from  which  to 
practice  their  declamations,  in  course  of  preparation  for 
commencement  day.  And  then  the  romantic  surround- 
ings undoubtedly  did  not  escape  the  notice  of  its  foun- 
ders, who  were  desirous  of  turning  every  circumstance 
to  the  advantage  of  the  future  student.1' 

We  had  now  reached  a  stage  in  our  journey  where 
the  sand  was  so  deep  as  to  almost  impede  our  further 
progress.  The  poor  horses,  which,  while  answering  the 
purposes  of  ordinary  domestic  use,  were  totally  unfit  for 
a  journey  of  this  kind,  were  greatly  distressed;  and  as 
for  the  patient  brute  to  whose  lot  it  had  fallen  to  draw 
the  buggy  (?)  in  which  the  writer  and  his  family  were 
packed,  every  moment  threatened  to  put  an  end  to  his 
demonstrative  efforts.  Covered  with  perspiration,  with 
outstreched  neck  and  dilated  nostrils  he  tugged  away 
with  most  persistent  energy,  while  the  remaining  stump 
of  what  had  formerly  been  a  tail  stood  out  on  a  level  with 
his  back  bone.  Desirous  of  consummating  our  journey 
before  the  close  of  the  day,  and  fearing  the  worst,  the 
male  portion  of  our  party  were  willing  to  make  great 
sacrifices,  and  suffer  somewhat  in  the  cause  of  humanity; 
we  therefore  considerately  alighted  from  our  perches  and 


95 

essayed  feats  of  pedestrianism  scarcely  equaled  in  the 
sawdust  arena,  even  in  this  day  of  wonderful  pedestrian 
achievements.  For  the  reader  must  constantly  hear  in 
mind  the  fact  that  we  were  traveling  in  loose  sands 
which  were  almost  ankle  deep  and  our  grade  was  upward ; 
to  say  nothing  of  the  sun,  which  at  almost  meridian 
height,  raised  the  temperature  to  about  one  hundred  de- 
grees Fahrenheit,  in  the  shade.  But  the  toil  and  monot- 
ony of  the  route  even  under  these  conditions  were  greatly 
modified  by  the  merry  prattle  of  the  little  ones,  together 
with  the  jokes  and  puns  indulged  in  at  the  expense  of 
each  other. 

It  was  along  here,  too,  that  we  encountered  the  first 
snake  of  the  season — a  small,  striped  fellow,  glittering 
in  his  recent  coat,  as  he  lay  and  enjoyed  the  life-impart- 
ing raj's  of  the  vernal  sun.  One  blow  on  the  head  from 
a  club  in  the  hand  of  the  vivacious  Brown  was  sufficient 
to  end  his  earthly  career;  but,  for  the  novelty  and  ex- 
citement of  the  experience,  all  three  of  us  felt  called 
upon  to  assist  in  the  execution,  while  the  ladies  turned 
pale  from  fear  and  the  children  laughed  and  cried  by 
turn.  And  so  we  "  devoured  space,"  not  a  murmur 
escaping  our  lips,  until  we  conquered  the  sands  and 
high  grade,  and  were  relegated  to  what  might  have  been 
termed  an  oasis,  just  beyond  the  desert,  instead  of  in  it — 
a  gentle  declivity,  laved  at  its  base  by  a  babbling  brook, 
whose  sparkling  waters  were  to  our  parched  throats  as 


96 

pleasing  as  any  nectar,  distilled  by  fabled  gods,  and 
whose  mossy  banks  no  lover  yet  pressed  without  sub- 
mitting to  the  spell  of  Cupid's  magic  charm. 

Here  we  dismounted  and  unhitched;  the  horses  were 
released  from  their  galling  gearings  and  thoroughly 
groomed;  and  while  they  were  chewing  their  provender, 
the  children,  now  permitted  to  run  at  random,  disported 
themselves  in  their  innocent  ways  upon  the  shaded 
slope.  Some  embarrassment  was  occasioned  here  on  our 
part  in  securing  an  additional  supply  of  fodder.  Hay 
or  oats  were  out  of  the  question  altogether;  and  since 
the  weather  was  hot,  as  stated  above,  corn,  the  onty 
means  of  subsistence  now  at  our  command  for  feeding 
purposes,  was  too  heating  in  its  nature,  and  endangered 
the  health  of  the  stock.  Our  only  recourse  then  was  to 
go  on  a  foraging  expedition,  with  the  hope  of  securing  a 
little  fodder  by  money  or  persuasion.  I  speak  in  that 
doubtful  strain  because  it  was  a  matter  of  no  little 
difficulty  to  secure  fodder  in  that  isolated  vicinity;  and 
the  thrice  blessed  traveler  in  the  eastern  or  middle 
states,  who  has  only  to  halt  at  the  first  cross-roads  and 
pay  his  money  and  take  his  choice  of  all  the  luxuries 
known  to  modern  art  and  skill,  little  appreciates  the 
almost  heart-rending  entreaties  it  often  requires  on  the 
part  of  the  exhausted  traveler  to  draw  forth  from  the 
average  Southern  rustic  the  coveted  boon.  And  should 
the  petitioner  be  a   colored  man,  he  considers  himself 


97 

only  too  fortunate  to  be  let  alone  to  pursue  his  journe}' 
in  peace,  to  say  nothing  ot  being  granted  any  little  acts 
of  kindness  by  the  way. 

The  magnanimity  and  hospitality  of  the  South  has 
been  lauded  to  the  skies,  aye,  even  sung  by  inspired 
poets  in  the  past,  while  the  great  souled  North  has  been 
charged  with  inhospitality  and  selfishness,  but  "  truth  is 
great  and  will  prevail,"  and  "though  crushed  to  earth," 
this  3rear,  it  will  rise  again  next  year  and  vindicate  itself. 
We  grant  that,  during  the  period  of  the  South's  history 
when  she  gloated  over  her  possessions  of  lands  and 
slaves,  and  proclaimed  cotton  king  of  commerce,  there 
was  more  than  a  semblance  of  truth  in  her  boast  that 
she  was  the  friend  and  exemplar  of  hospitality;  for  it 
often  happened  that  strangers  visiting  that  section,  who 
would  wink  at  her  inconsistencies  and  attempt  to  palliate 
them  with  sophistical  arguments,  were  caught  up,  passed 
around,  and  entertained  in  a  princely  manner,  for  long 
periods  of  time;  and  when  they  departed  their  praises 
were  loud  and  multiplied  concerning  the  hospitable 
South;  but  has  the  reader  ever  considered  that  the 
South  could  well  afford  to  be  generous  at  that  particular 
period?  because,  while  they  and  their  guests  were  junket- 
ing around  the  neighborhood,  living  upon  the  "  fat  of 
the  land,"  the  real  bone  and  sinews  of  the  land  were 
even  then  delving  on  the  cotton  plantation  or  wading  in 
the  rice  swamp,  without  renumeration,  to  sustain  such 


98 

prodigality.  With  the  North  the  case  was  altogether 
different.  The  people  of  the  North  knew  where  their 
means  came  from ;  they  worked  for  their  living,  and  by 
the  sweat  of  their  brow  obtained  their  daily  bread. 
With  less  than  eight  months  of  pleasant  weather  during 
the  course  of  a  whole  year,  they  were  compelled  to  uti- 
lize eveiy  moment  of  time:  nor  did  the  frosts,  snows  and 
bleak  winds  of  winter  deter  them  from  their  labors;  but, 
pressing  forward  with  daring  hardihood,  the}'  turned 
what  to  a  less  thrifty  and  hardy  race  would  have  seemed 
a  misfortune,  into  advantage,  and  plucked  success  from 
seeming  adversity.  Hence,  while  they  were  not  nig- 
gardly in  their  dealings,  they  laid  no  claim  to  the 
reputation  of  being  a  race  of  spendthrifts.  If  rumor 
may  be  relied  on,  the  South  does  not  now  sustain  the 
same  reputation  in  this  respect  that  she  did  in  ante 
helium  days,  and  the  reasons  are  too  obvious  to  be 
mentioned. 

However,  returning  to  our  foraging  expedition,  we 
finally  succeeded  in  discovering  a  man  who  had  a  little 
fodder.  Knowing  full  well  the  obstacles  in  the  way  of 
our  success  in  obtaining  a  few  bundles  of  it,  we  ap- 
proached the  subject  very  cautiously  and  with  much 
prudence.  A  general  in  the  arnry,  in  approaching  the 
outworks  of  the  enemy,  could  not  be  more  cautious  in 
his  tactics  than  was  Jones  in  this  instance;  for,  relying 


99 

upon  his  great  experience  and  suavity  of  manners,  we 
had  shoved  him  to  the  front  as  our  spokesman. 

Walking  up  to  the  bars,  we  saw  a  lean,  lank  specimen 
of  the  native  Southerner  in  the  yard,  drawing  a  bucket 
of  water  from  a  deep,  deep  well,  such  as  are  common  in 
that  high  country. 

" Howdy!"  said  Jones. 

"Howdy  do,"  answered  the  man  of  the  fodder.  We 
knew  he  had  it,  because  we  had  espied  some  of  it  in  the 
rear  of  the  barn. 

"Buddy,  that's  an  awfully  fine  horse  you've  got 
there,"  said  Jones. 

"  Well,  yaas  it  is.'" 

"Guess  she's  a  fast  un,  ain't  she?"' 

"  Well,  sorter,  I  reckon.     She  runs  in  two  minnits." 

"  Golly,  that's  fast!"  said  Jones.  "We've  got  some 
poor  creeters  over  there  in  the  grove  that  are  almost 
worn  out.  Come  forty-five  miles  since  }~esterday,  and 
ain't  got  a  mouthful  of  fodder  for  them." 

"  Do  tell !  whar  are  yer  gwine"? " 

"Well,  we  are  going  up  home  to  see  the  old  folks. 
We  haven't  seen  them  for  many  a  day,  and  it  will  do 
their  poor  old  hearts  so  much  good  to  see  us  once  more 
before  they  die."  Here  Jones'  voice  became  tremulous 
with  emotion,  and  a  tear  was  visible  in  one  e}*e. 

"  01e>  boss,"  broke  in  Brown ;  "  do  you  ever  tetch  any 
of  the  old  bug-juice?  " 


100 

"  Well,  I  reckon  I  do,  partner,"  said  the  man  of  the 
fodder.     "  Is  yer  got  eriny?" 

"  I  never  goes  without  it,  I  don't,"  said  Brown. 
Here  he  produced  a  little  flask  partly  filled  with  corn 
whiskey,  obtained  on  the  road,  which  looked  for  the 
world  like  clear  water. 

The  health  of  the  fodder  man  and  his  family  was 
drank,  amidst  much  hilarity,  and  then  Jones  suggested: 
"  Buddy,  I  spose  j^ou  couldn't  let  us  have  about  a  dozen 
bundles  of  your  fodder  for  our  creeters,  could  you?" 

"Well,  I  would  jest  as  live  give  }tou  my  horse  almost 
as  to  give  you  her  fodder;  but,  seein'  that  you  uns  are  a 
purty  nice  set  ef  fellers,  ef  you  can  get  along  with  half  a 
dozen  bundles  I  guess  I  kin  let  yoxa  have  that  much." 

"Thankee,  buddy,  thankee! "  said  Jones,  assuming 
the  manner  and  speech  of  the  locality  as  much  as  possi- 
ble; "  I'll  do  as  much  for  3^011  some  time,  when  you  come 
along  my  way." 

"Whar  might  be  }rour  home?"  queried  our  bene- 
factor." 

"Hudsonville,  South  Carolina,"  we  all  answered  at 
once. 

"  Oh,  I  have  been  thar;  it's  a  purty  nice  little  place, 
too,  but  awful  dry." 

"  Yes,"  answered  Brown ;  "  nothin'  but  brandy 
peaches  and  cherries,  and  they  are  fifty  and  seventy-five 
cents  a  bottle.     But  we  often  send  across  the  river  to 


101 

Goochville  and  buy  a  gallon  or  so,  which  lasts  us  for 
quite  a  little  while." 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  conversation  we  had 
reached  the  stack  and  secured  our  coveted  prize,  and 
when  Brown  finished  his  last  observation  we  politely  bid 
our  new  formed  acquaintance  "  good-b3Te,"  and  went  in 
search  of  our  respective  families. 

A  little  blaze,  kindled  beneath  a  broad-spreading 
tree,  was  crackling  under  the  coffee-pot,  and  the  lunch 
was  spread.  The  collards  b}T  this  time  were  slightly 
soured;  the  coffee  had  neither  cream,  milk  nor  sugar  in 
it  to  make  it  palatable;  but,  for  all  these  seeming  dis- 
advantages, not  a  murmur  was  heard,  because  we  knew 
that  the  darkest  hour  is  just  before  the  break  of  day, 
and  the  nearer  we  approached  the  goal  of  our  ambition 
the  less  we  regarded  the  slight  inconveniences  of  the 
journe}-.  Once  at  our  destination,  surrounded  by  kind 
friends  and  the  good  things  of  this  life,  our  present 
afflictions  would  but  heighten  the  pleasures  attending 
them. 

Our  dinner  disposed  of,  we  were  not  long  in  preparing 
to  resume  our  journey.  The  horses,  by  means  of  that 
strange  power  possessed  by  them,  which  we  call  instinct, 
perceiving  that  they  were  gradually  nearing  the  end  of 
their  journey,  quickened  their  pace,  and  all  was  life  and 
animation  once  more. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


"Fannie"  on  her  metal. — First  Mishap  of  the  Road. — "All's 
Well  that  End's  Well."— The  Deserted  Cotton  Plantation.— Then 
and  Now. — Contributing  Causes. — "Carpet-Bag"  Rule  in  the 
South. — Both  Sides  of  the  Question. — What  the  Writer  saw  in 
South  Carolina. — How  Property-Holders  Felt. — Characteristic 
Letter. — Where  did  the  Blame  Lie? — Admission  of  the  Writer  of 
the  Letter. — Land  Commission. — Rail  Road  Bonds. — Private 
Operations. 


Up  to  this  point,  nothing  had  occured  to  mar  the 
pleasure  of  our  trip,  if  we  except  the  slight  mishap,  dur- 
ing the  night  before,  of  which  the  writer  was  the  unfor- 
tunate cause;  and  the  ordinary  incidents  characteristic 
of  every  journey  through  a  thinly  populated  territory, 
devoid  of  the  commonest  conveniences  of  every  day  life. 
But  at  last  we  were  to  have  a  genuine  sensation;  a  real 
traged}',  we  might  say,  were  it  not  for  the  melo-drama- 
tic  termination  of  it.  Our  readers  will  remember  that 
mention  was  made,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  previous 
chapter,  of  a  little  brook  which  laved  the  base  of  the 
declivity  on  which  we  camped.  This  stream,  in  the 
course  of  its  tortuous  meanderings,  crossed  our  road 
about  one  mile  further  down,  and  by  reason  thereof  a 
bridge  was  necessitated,  This  bridge  being  of  an  un- 
substantial character,  jarred  greatly  beneath  the  tramp- 


103 

ling  of  the  horses,  and  gave  forth  sounds  that  were  well 
calculated  to  excite  animals  of  a  nervous  and  fiery  dis- 
position. Now,  as  we  have  stated  before,  in  another 
portion  of  this  volume,  Fannie,  cousin  Henry's  mare,  was 
a  nervous  little  thing  and  just  like  some  human  beings, 
was  exceedingly  anxious  to  display  her  agility,  appar- 
ently for  the  entertainment  of  the  remainder  of  the  party. 
Nor  was  our  dear  cousin  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  she 
required  constant  watching  in  order  to  repress  her  ebu- 
litions  of  spirit  and  keep  her  within  due  bounds;  for,  on 
more  occasions  than  one,  during  the  course  of  our  present 
journe}-,  she  had  shied  at  seeing  the  meerest  trifles,  and 
endeavored  to  break  loose  from  restraint.  But  despite 
these  timely  warnings  on  her  part,  Jones  persisted  in 
testing  her  speed,  whenever  a  suitable  opportunity  pre- 
sented itself.  At  such  such  times  he  would  leave  the 
rest  of  the  party  far  in  the  rear,  until  he  was  checked  b}r 
our  shoutings  and  hallooings,  when  he  would  kindly 
condescend  to  await  our  arrival,  at  the  same  time,  in  a 
taunting  way,  reproaching  us  for  the  slothfulness  of  our 
movements.  It  was  not  surprising  to  us  then,  that  when 
we  arrived  at  the  summit  of  the  gentle  slope  leading  to 
the  bridge  referred  to,  we  saw  him  lash  Fannie  and  tell 
her  to  "  go."  Nor  did  she  need  a  second  command,  for 
with  a  snort  and  a  bound,  she  went.  It  soon  became 
evident  that  Jones  had  lost  control  of  the  animal;  for 
had  she  been  borne  on  the  wings  of  the  wind,  she  would 


104 

scarcely  have  exceeded  her  speed.  "  Turn  her  into  the 
ditch!"  shouted  Brown,  but  his  advice  was  either 
unheard  or  unheeded;  for  she  contined  to  rush  straight 
forward.  In  another  moment  she  had  struck  the  bridge; 
and  amidst  the  almost  deafening  thunderings  which  it 
gave  forth,  passed  over  in  safety;  and  then! — Oh  look!! 
For  mercy's  sake  !  !  ! — The  buggy  turns  over  into  the 
ditch  !  !  !  A  scream!  and  Henry's  heels  are  seen  to  fly 
upward  into  the  air,  as  his  body  disappeared  over  the 
dash  board,  closely  followed  by  his  wife,  who  hugging 
her  little  one  to  her  bosom,  turned  a  complete  somer- 
sault. 

The  mare,  as  if  conscious  of  the  fact  that  she  had 
done  all  the  mischief  she  could,  now  stopped  and  looked 
complacently  upon  the  wreck.  As  soon  as  our  feet  could 
cany  us,  we  rushed  to  the  rescue;  but  by  the  time  we 
reached  them  our  cousin  was  upon  his  feet,  extricating 
his  wife  and  child.  A  few  seconds  sufficed  to  reveal 
the  fact  that  be3^ond  the  scare  and  a  liberal  bedaub- 
ing of  mud,  no  damage  had  been  done;  and  as  for 
the  buggy,  when  it  was  once  more  placed  in  its 
proper  position,  it  was  ascertained  that  with  the  assis- 
tance of  a  single  strap  it  would  answer  his  purpose 
during  the  remainder  of  the  journey.  From  that  time 
forth  until  we  reached  our  destination,  adopting  the 
maxim — "in  medio  tutissimus  ibis"  Jones   surrendered 


105 

the  lead  to  the  vivacious  Brown,  while  he  took  a  position 
in  the  middle. 

This  accident  furnished  the  theme  of  conversation  at 
odd  intervals  during  the  remainder  of  the  journey,  and 
poor  Henry  was  made  the  butt  of  many  rude  jokes  even 
after  our  arrival  in  Magnolia,  our  objective  point. 

But  occasionally,  when  an  object  of  unusual  interest 
was  encountered,  we  would  drop  that  subject  long  enough 
to  discuss  its  characteristics.  Such  an  object  was  a 
large  mansion  house,  built  of  wood  with  four  large  Doric 
columns  and  friese  to  correspond,  situated  in  the  center 
of  a  spacious  inclosure,  which  even  then  in  its  deserted 
condition  gave  token  of  having  been  at  a  time  not  far 
removed,  the  homestead  of  some  man  of  exceptional  taste 
and  wealth.  There  stood  the  proud  old  mansion,  the 
substantial  construction  and  classic  style  of  which  made 
it  a  wonder  in  that  forsaken  land.  What  brain  conceived 
the  plan  of  its  construction?  What  hands  executed  the 
design?  No  one  of  all  that  dwelt  within  its  walls 
remained  to  speak  and  only  tradition  could  unfold  the 
story  of  its  origin.  Once  those  hollow  walls  resounded 
with  the  stentorian  tones  of  the  pater  familias,  returning 
from  the  chase  or  the  sober  pursuits  of  life;  the  manty 
voice  of  the  father  brought  good  cheer  and  joy  to  the 
loving  wife  and  dependent;  once  the  soft  sweet  lullaby 
was  sung  by  a  young  mother  as  she  lovingly  caressed  her 
darling  babe  and  hushed  it  to  sweet  slumbers;    and  the 


106 

innocent  prattle  of  infancy  was  audible,  while  Cupid 
plied  his  art  among  those  who  were  just  blooming  into 
man  and  womanhood;  and  when  music's  soft  cadences 
fell  upon  the  ear,  then  might  have  been  seen  the 
chivalric  youth  leading  forth  the  idol  of  his  ambition  to 
try  the  mysteries  of  the  mazy  dance  or  circle  around  in 
the  dizzy  waltz.  But  now,  all  is  hushed. and  silent;  and 
naught  but  the  bat,  the  owl,  and  creeping  vines  guard 
its  portals,  while  the  spider  silently  weaving  his  web 
spreads  a  gloomy  pall  over  all,  and  conceals  in  part  the 
ravages  of  time,  which  slowly  but  surely  carries  on  the 
work  of  destruction  and  saps  its  foundations.  The  four 
great  sycamore  trees  in  front  of  the  yard  sacred  to  Jove 
— grim  sentinels  over  all — only  add  to  the  romance  of  the 
scene  and  increase  our  curiosity. 

"  Now  cousin  Henr}*,"  I  said,  "  here  is  the  only 
really  noteworthy  building  I  have  seen  during  our  ride 
of  fifty  miles;    who  owns  it?  " 

"This  is  the  Mumford  place,"  he  said.  "It  is 
deserted  now — all  run  down;  but  the  time  was,  cousin, 
when  this  place  was  a  perfect  hive  of  industry.  This 
plantation  comprises  more  than  a  thousand  acres  and 
before  the  war  produced  more  cotton  than  }rou  could 
shake  a  stick  at.  Over  there  by  those  woods  are  what 
are  left  of  the  quarters,  but  in  Mumford's  time  they  were 
more  numerous  and  the  hands  were  just  as  thick  as 
black  birds." 


107 

"  But,"  I  asked,  "  what  has  become  of  the  owner? 
why  aint  he  here  attending  to  his  property?  " 

"  The  owner  is  dead,  cousin — got  killed  in  the  war,  I 
believe,  and  his  heirs  have  never  cultivated  the  land 
since  he  died.  They  wont  sell  any  of  it  to  the  freedraen 
for  love  nor  money,  and  they  offer  such  small  wages  to 
hands  that  they  will  not  work  on  it;  most  of  them  have 
gone  off'  to  work  on  the  rail  road;  and  some  of  them 
followed  the  army  to  the  uorth.  Besides  that,  the  land 
has  become  so  completely  overrun  with  weeds  that  it 
aint  worth  much  now,  and  it  would  take  a  small  fortune 
to  put  it  in  shape  again." 

This  remark  was  too  trne;  and  what  made  it  sadder 
still  was  the  additional  fact  that  all  through  that  part  of 
the  State  and  the  adjoining  State  of  South  Carolina  were 
to  be  seen  extensive  tracts  of  land  of  which  the  one  just 
referred  to  was  a  fair  illustration.  Much  has  been 
written  and  more  spoken  regarding  the  causes  that 
have  contributed  toward  the  decline  and  ultimate  ruin 
of  such  valuable  property,  but  nothing  so  far  that  the 
writer  has  seen  has  fully  met  his  approval.  Some, 
presumabl3T  biased  in  behalf  of  the  South,  have  attrib- 
uted it  all  to  "  carpet  bag  rule  "  and  "  negro  domination ;" 
while  others,  with  contraiy  tendencies,  find  no  difficulty 
in  ascribing  every  evil  to  the  unrepentant  South.  The 
trouble,  I  opine,  lies  between  the  two,  as  the  writer  will 
in  the  sequel  undertake  to  unfold. 


108 

When  the  writer  first  located  in  the  Palmetto  State, 
during  the  3rear  1870,  he  found  the  following  condition 
of  affairs  as  near  as  he  remembers.  The  government  of 
the  State — legislative,  judicial  and  executive — was  in 
the  hands  of  the  Republican  part}';  which,  at  that  time, 
cast  about  eighty-five  thousand  votes.  Of  these,  about 
sixty  thousand  were  cast  by  the  freed  men,  and  the 
remainder  by  white  people.  The  white  voters  were 
composed  partly  of  those  whom  adventure  and  the 
results  of  the  war  had  thrown  into  the  State,  and  were 
all  known  and  designated  as  "carpet-baggers,"  but  who, 
in  fact,  furnished  at  that  time  three-fourths  of  the  brain 
employed  in  the  whole  party;  and  partly  of  such  of  the 
lower  and  middle  classes  of  the  native  white  population 
as,  rejoicing  at  the  opportunity  of  gaining  for  themselves 
a  political  influence  such  as  they  had  never  before  even 
aspired  to  covet,  and  desiring  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
opportunity  of  adding  to  their  wordly  possessions,  had 
laid  aside  their  prejudices  and  joined  their  cause  with 
that  of  the  Republican  party. 

A  majority  of  the  members  of  both  branches  of  the 
Legislature  were  persons  of  African  descent.  Among 
these  were  to  be  found  a  number  who  possessed  such  a 
degree  of  natural  sagacity  and  intellectual  culture  as 
would  have  shown  to  advantage  if  placed  by  the  side  of 
some  of  the  most  brilliant  intellects  to  be  found  in  the 
legislative  bodies  of  our  Northern  States — men,  indeed, 


109 

who  had  enjoyed,  the  advantages  of  some  of  our  older 
institutions  of  learning,  and  who  had  even  brought  with 
them  from  European  schools  ripe  experience  and  scholas- 
tic acquirements.  Did  prudence  permit,  the  writer 
could  mention  the  names  of  some  of  these  men,  who 
have  since  become  well  known  to  the  community  at  large 
by  reason  of  their  prominence  in  national  politics. 

It  is  to  be  regretted,  however,  that  as  much  could  not 
be  said  of  the  remainder  of  them,  since  they,  in  many 
instances,  were  not  only  lacking  in  respect  of  such  ordi- 
nary and  reasonable  essentials  as  common  intelligence 
and  moral  integrity,  but  lost  no  opportunity  of  impress- 
ing this  fact  upon  the  minds  of  the  people  of  the  State 
and  the  country  at  large.  It  will  surprise  no  one, 
therefore,  when  we  state  that  the  property-holders  of  the 
State,  who  were  in  general  ex-rebels  of  the  State,  were 
highly  disgusted  when  men,  who  a  few  years  prior 
(months,  in  some  instances,)  had  scarcely  a  lodging 
place,  were  seen  boasting  themselves  among  their  former 
associates,  clothed  in  the  finest  raiment,  their  wives  and 
children  wearing  rich  silks  and  jewels,  and  riding  in 
carriages  and  phaetons.  A  general  desire  seemed  to 
possess  every  one  to  become  a  member  of  the  Legislature, 
from  the  minister  in  the  pulpit  to  the  plantation  hand: 

and  in  the  fall  of  1872  there  were  in  county  no 

less  than  twenty-two  aspirants  to  legislative  "  honors," 


110 

of  whom  only  two  could  read  and  write,  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  were  only  two  vacancies  to  be  filled. 

To  such  an  extent  was  the  mania  for  holding  office 
permitted  to  go,  and  so  completely  were  the  ignorant 
masses  possessed  of  a  desire  to  participate  in  the  bene- 
fits accruing  therefrom,  that  in  one  instance,  at  least,  a 
well  formed, healthy  farm  hand  who  had  been  so  fortunate, 
or  unfortunate,  as  to  be  elected  to  the  lower  branch  of 
the  Legislature,  wept  over  a  subsequent  defeat,  and, 
by  reason  of  his  determination  to  return  to  the  State 
capital  in  some  capacity,  actually  accepted  the  position 
of  janitor,  and  was  seen  upon  the  curb  cleaning  spittoons. 

It  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  writer,  upon  a  visit  to  the 
State  capital  in  the  year  1871,  to  pass  a  night  in  the 
dormitoiy  occupied  by  a  large  number  of  the  members 
of  the  Legislature.  The  impressions  made  on  his  mind 
by  the  events  of  that  eventful  occasion  will  never  be 
fully  obliterated  by  the  lapse  of  time  nor  change  of 
locality;  for,  amidst  the  fumes  of  strong  drink,  the 
clouds  of  smoke,  the  shuttling  of  feet  and  maudlin  jesting 
of  the  "  grave  and  reverend  seigniors,11  sleep  was  an  im- 
possibility, and  he  contented  himself  with  lieing  there, 
a  quiet  observer  of  transpiring  events,  and  philosophizing 
as  to  their  probable  issue. 

It  would  be  manifesty  unjust  however  and  foreign  to 
the  truth,  for  any  one  to  ascribe  to  the  ignorance  of  this 
august  body  all    the  moral  turpitude  which  was   even 


Ill 

then  drawing  forth  the  severest  criticisms  from  some  of 
the  most  ardent  advocates  of  the  Southern  Reconstruc- 
tion policy:  for  these  poor  men  were  in  reality  but  the 
dupes  of  their  more  wily  and  sophisticated  brethren  of 
both  colors,  who  used  them  as  mere  cat's  paws  with 
which  to  pull  the  nutritious  chestnuts  out  of  the  fire; 
and  who,  while  these  deluded  people  were  easily  pur- 
chased with  a  few  hundred  dollars,  were  accumulating 
bank,  rail  road  and  mining  stocks,  as  well  as  pocketing 
a  liberal  proportion  of  the  bonds  of  the  State  of  South 
Carolina.  Nor  did  this  condition  of  affairs  end  at  the 
state  capital;  but  becoming  contagious,  it  spread  all 
over  the  state,  and  found  a  lodging  in   every   countj', 

town    and    hamlet.     In    the  county  of which  was  a 

model  one  for  that  state,  the  sheriff,  (who  was  a  white 
man,)  could  neither  read  nor  write,  and  depended  al- 
together upon  his  clerk  and  memory  for  the  transaction 
of  his  complicated  duties;  the  school  commissioner  was 
a  man  incapable  of  discharging  his  duties  according  to 
the  requirements  of  his  position;  the  probate  judge  was 
ignorant  of  the  rudiments  of  law;  and  some  of  the 
trial  justices  were  men  who  dishonored  their  positions 
in  every  respect.  And  jTet  when  the  writer  during  the 
delivery  of  a  public  harangue,  took  occasion  to  suggest 
the  propriety  of  selecting  the  more  intelligent  class  of 
republicans  for  these  positions,  rather  than  such  as  have 
been  referred  to,  he  was  branded  with  disfavor  by  all 


112 

who  were  of  that  class,  (and  they  comprised  the  greater 
portion  of  the  inhabitants)  was  stigmatized  as  a  college 
bred  man  who  was  in  favor  of  having  only  educated 
people  hold  office,  and  relegated  to  the  seclusion  of  his 
grocery  and  law  office.  It  is  no  wonder  then,  that  under 
the  circumstances,  there  was  a  feeling  of  hatred  and 
disgust,  deep  and  bitter,  pervading  the  breasts  of  the 
property  holding  class  throughout  the  State,  which  was 
destined  to  ultimately  break  forth  in  such  deeds  of  vio- 
lence and  bloodshed  as  have  brought  dishonor  upon  the 
fame  of  the  State  and  stained  the  reputation  of  some 
of  her  leading  men. 

The  writer  has  no  recollection  of  having  ever  seen 
any  more  direct  exposition  of  the  sentiment  then 
pervading  the  latter  class  of  the  inhabitants  of  that 
State  than  that  furnished  by  a  letter  now  in  his  posses- 
sion, written  and  addressed  to  him,  subsequent  to  his 
return  to  the  State  of  Ohio,  by  one  of  her  oldest  inhabi- 
tants; a  man  who  for  twelve  consecutive  years  repre- 
sented his  county  in  the  Legislature;  a  former  slave- 
holder, and  at  that  time  the  owner  of  more  than  one 
thousand  acres  of  arable  land. 

For  the  benefit  of  such  readers  as  may  be  desirous 
of  obtaining  both  sides  of  this  important  question, 
we  will  insert  the  letter  entire,  subject  to  such  com- 
ments thereon  as  we  may  feel  constrained  to   submit. 


113 

The  following  is  the  letter  verbatim.     The  italics  are 

our  own : 

Hudson ville,  S.  C,  May  13th,  1873. 
,  Esq. 

I  have  received  your  letter,  bearing  date ,  Ohio, 

and  was  somewhat  surprised  to  find  that  you  had  left  the  South 
entirely.  You  lived  here  long  enough  to  find  out  that  it  was  no 
place  for  one  politically  who  had  honest  aims.  The  gang  of 
thieves  who  call  themselves  the  State  Government,  want  no  spies 

about  them,   and   therefore  was  not  wanted.     If  you  had 

been  a  dexterous  rogue  you  might  have  stolen  a  good  deal,  and 
have  been  highly  promoted  ;    or   if  you  had   let  the  white  people 

take  you   up    and  fought  as  well  as  yon    could  with  the 

colored  people,  you  might  have  achieved  something  valuable  for 
yourself  as  well  as  for  the  public  interest.  I  think  the  whites 
would  have  stood  by  you  just  as  long  as  you  had  strength  to  fight 
the  robbers,  and  would  have  been  of  great  service  to  you.  They 
wanted  an  advocate  from  your  race  ;  some  one  the  freedmen  would 
believe,  and  who  would  tell  them  boldly  what  is  going  on.  For 
rottenness  sits  in  all  the  high  places,  and  the  white  people  feel 
that  they  are  made  mere  fish-bait  of,  and  that  they  have  no  civil 
rights  under  the  domination  of  corn-field  darkies,  and  army  sut- 
lers at  the  head  of  the  State  Government. 

Do  you  think  the  white  people  of  South  Carolina  will  ever 
tolerate  this  state  of  things?  Prudence  may  keep  all  things  quiet 
for  a  time,  but  ivhen  the  dam  breaks  the  rush  of  water  will  overwhelm 
everything  in  its  way.     We  don't  intend  to   submit   to  the  existing 

state  of  things   for  the  benefit  of  and  such  as  he.     I  say 

this  to  you  who  belong  to  another  race,  but  who  knows  enough  of 
a  country  where  he  could  not  live  himself  without  stealing  or 
winking  at  the  stealing  of  others,  and  who   must  understand  that 

IT 


114 

the  respectable  people  who  live  here,  and  can't  get  away  to  Ohio, 
intend  to  assert  their  rights  when  they  can,  and  throw  off  the  mill- 
stones that  are  crushing  out  their  very  lives. 

You  know  all  about  what  I  am  writing,  and  well  understand 
me  when  I  tell  you  that  "  time  "  only  increases  the  deep  indigna- 
tion we  all  feel  at  what  we  have  to  suffer,  and  can  never  make  it 
tolerable.  We  are  altogether  willing  that  human  rights  should 
be  acknowledged,  and  all  races  and  conditions  shall  have  equal 
rights  under  the  law.  But  you  know  the  white  man  has  no  political 
rights  here,  and  that  be  is  at  the  mercy  of  mere  bummers.  All 
the  concessions  we  make  only  draw  our  own  chains  tighter.  I  do 
not  just  now  see  the  end  of  these  things,  but  it  must  come.  When 
such  men  as  Governor  Orr  and  Sawyer  are  driven  from  the  State 
because   they  tried   to   reform   the    Republican  party,  and  when 

could  see  no   resting-place  for  his  feet  here,  well  may  all 

others,  more  sensitive  to  the  violence  done  to  all  their  preconceived 
opinions  and  prejudices,  feel  restless  and  disgusted,  and  look  beyond 
the  dead  line  for  the  possibility  of  an  escape.  It  seems  hard  that 
after  the  white  people,  who  pay  all  the  taxes,  have  been  so 
reduced  as  to  accept  with  sincerity  such  terms  as  shock  every  fibre 
in  their  systems,  yet  still  they  are  denied  the  privilege  of  making 
their  own  laws,  and  have  no  rights  except  what  cornfield  darkies 
and  army  sutlers  are  willing  to  concede  to  them,  at  their  own 
expense.     Therefore  we  complain. 

As  to  money  matters,  the  people  are  rich,  even  with  their 
heavy  taxes.  The  small  planters  are  richer  than  they  ever  were. 
I  never  saw  money  so  plentiful  in  South  Carolina  as  last  winter 
(1872).  With  cotton  at  seventeen  and  eighteen  cents,  even  the 
freedmen  are  looking  up,  and  buying  largely  of  everything  they 
want.  One  lives  near  me  who  has  bought  and  paid  for  two  tracts 
of  land  and  five  horses  since  the  war.     If  cotton  only  keeps  up 


115 

we  are  obliged  to  be  full  of  money.  A  one-horse  farm  is  good  for 
ten  bales  and  provisions.  Any  one  can  make  it  who  is  willing  to 
work,  and  therefore  we  make  no  complaints  about  money.  It  is 
the  best  place  to  make  money  in  the  civilized  world.  And  there 
are  thousands  of  opportunities  yet  to  be  seized  upon  by  smart  men 
in  mechanical  and  manufacturing  employments  that  would  be 
sui'e  to  bring  ricb  harvests  to  those  who  will  seek  them.  We 
want  Northern  men  to  come  amongst  us.  The  old  prejudices  are 
crushed  out,  and  we  will  hail  them  as  friends  if  they  will  come 
amongst  and  settle  down  to  live  by  their  industry  (and  vote  the 
Democratic  ticket,  he  ought  to  have  added).  There  is  any  quan- 
tity of  land  to  rent.  I  have  a  field  myself  of  five  hundred  acres 
which  I  will  rent  for  two  dollars  an  acre,  or  will  sell  for  twelve 
dollars  an  acre  the  whole  tract  of  nine  hundred  and  fifty  acres. 

Yours  respectfully,  

The  writer  of  the  foregoing  remarkable  letter  said  in 
the  presence  and  hearing  of  the  author  and  a  large  con- 
course of  citizens  of  both  colors,  upon  the  occasion  ot  a 
political  demonstration,  in  substance  as  follows:  "We 
have  made  a  mistake  in  the  policy  adopted  and  pursued 
by  us  toward  our  colored  citizens  and  the  republican 
party  in  general,  and  I  fear  it  is  now  too  late  to  repair 
the  damage  done.  We  should  have  fraternized  with  }rou, 
and  inspired  you  with  confidence  in  us,  Had  we  adopted 
that  plan,  we  could  have  gained  a  place  in  your  affec- 
tions and  enjo^yed  the  opportunity  of  contributing  of  our 
superior  knowledge  and  greater  experience  toward  the 
reconstruction  and  government  of  our  State.  But 
instead  of  this,  we  have  held  aloof,  and  treated  you  with 


116 

studied  scorn;  instead  of  AToting  with  you  and  assisting 
in  the  selection  of  the  best  men  of  our  own  county  and 
State,  we  have  either  kept  away  from  the  polls  altogether 
or  else  wasted  our  strength  in  futile  efforts  to  elect  men 
to  office  who  differed  radically  from  yon,  while  strangers 
have  come  in  from  abroad  and  usurped  the  reins  of 
government  and  now  oppress  us  beyond  endurance." 
How  truthfully  and  fitly  spoken !  for  in  those  few  words 
rested  the  whole  truth  of  the  case.  It  is  true  that  from 
the  force  of  circumstances  some  of  the  largest  property 
holders  of  the  State  were  disfranchised  by  law,  but  this 
class  included  no  very  considerable  portion  of  the  voting 
population,  and  had  any  disposition  discovered  itself  on 
their  part  to  fall  in  with  the  new  order  of  things  and 
yield  obedience  to  the  laws  of  the  land,  no  difficulty 
would  have  been  experienced  in  adjusting  affairs,  to 
meet  the  requirements  of  their  case.  There  is  also 
another  view  to  be  taken  of  this  question,  namely:  If  it 
were  true  that  rottenness  was  sitting  in  all  the  high 
places,  it  was  equally  true  that  many  of  the  ''respectable 
people  of  the  South  "  winked  at  it  and  even  encouraged 
it.  For  instance  the  Land  Commission  of  the  State  of 
South  Carolina  was  formed  by  law,  and  had  placed  at  its 
disposal  more  than  half  a  million  dollars,  for  the  avowed 
purpose  of  purchasing  large  tracts  of  land  within  the 
State,  to  be  parcelled  out  to  such  of  the  ambitious  freed  - 
men   as   were   able   and  willing  to  buy  land,  but   who 


117 

owing  to  the  indisposition  on  the  part  of  the  Southern 
land  owners  to  sell  to  them,  had  not  the  opportunity. 
It  was  a  laudable  design,  conceived  in  justice  and  mag- 
nanimity, but  by  reason  of  the  connivance  of  these  same 
landed  grumblers,  permitted  to  become  abortive  of  any 
good  results,  and  disgraceful  to  the  administration.  A 
land  owner  having  a  piece  of  worn  out  or  swamp  land 
unfit  for  ordinary  agricultural  purposes  and  worth  in 
fact  not  more  than  from  a  dollar  and  fifty  cents  to  three 
dollars  per  acre,  would  palm  the  same  off  upon  the  Land 
Commissioners,  who  were  State  officers,  for  an  exorbitant 
price;  just  where  the  whole  of  the  money  paid  went  to  I 
cannot  say.  And  it  was  noticed  that  by  some  peculiar 
hocus  pocus  the  choicest  parcels  of  this  land,  especially 
if  there  happened  to  be  improvements  on  them,  were  apt 
to  get  into  the  hands  of  influential  members  of  the 
legislature.  And  in  almost  every  instance  where  private 
corporations  were  formed  by  legislative  enactments,  (and 
the  volumes  containing  session  laws  were  full  of  them) 
for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  mining  or  other  opera- 
tions within  the  State,  or  for  the  purpose  of  removing 
rich  phosphatic  deposits  from  the  beds  of  rivers,  (an 
article  very  valuable  in  the  cultivating  of  cotton  and 
other  products)  the  name  of  one  or  more  of  these  same 
"  respectable  people  of  the  State,"  appeared  conspicu- 
ous as  incorporators.  But  aside  from  all  this,  whatever 
may  be  said  against  the  honesty  or  fitness  of  individuals 


118 

participating  in  the  State  and  local  governments,  it 
must  be  admitted  that  they  furnished  the  only  element 
in  the  State  from  which  the  United  States  Government 
could  select  agents  for  the  transaction  of  her  behests. 
Say  of  the  colored  people  of  the  South  that  they  were  in 
some  instances  ignorant;  that  in  connection  with  their 
white  brethren  and  with  the  connivance  of  the  property 
holding  element  there,  they  sometimes  abused  their 
respective  trusts;  say  all  this  and  more  if  possible,  it 
must  still  be  admitted  by  everyone  who  knows  them  that 
they  were  then  as  now,  loyal  to  the  core  and  would 
rather  die  of  starvation  and  the  lash  in  the  hands  of  their 
white  oppressors  than  cast  a  ballot  for  the  Democratic 
party  or  betray  their  country  into  the  hands  of  traitors. 
There  has  not  been  a  time  since  the  surrender  of  Lee  at 
Appomattox,  when  it  was  not  in  the  power  of  the  Con- 
federate element  of  the  South  to  assist  in  governing 
themselves,  had  they  felt  disposed  to  accept  the  proffered 
concessions  of  the  Central  Government;  but  they  would 
not.  And  as  for  the  "  carpet  baggers,"  so  called,  I 
cannot  understand  how  the  reconstruction  of  the  South- 
ern States  could  have  taken  place  in  accordance  with 
legal  requirements  without  their  assistance;  and  the 
South  is  to  this  day  indebted  to  these  same  men  for 
some  of  her  most  substantial  improvement,  and  much  of 
the  energy  and  business  vitality  enjoyed  by  her. 


CHAPTEE  IX. 


The  Carnp^Meeting  Ground. — General  Appearance  of  the 
Place. — Jones  Pleased. — Eeligious  Tendencies  of  the  Colored  Eace. 
Are  they  Peculiarities  of  the  Colored  Eace,  or  are  they  Begotten 
of  their  Weak  and  Oppressed  Condition  ? — The  Writer's  Views  on 
this  Subject. — Eeminiscences  of  a  Camp-Meeting.— Sudden  Pros- 
tration and  Narrow  Escape.— The  Philadelphia  "Mourner." — 
Quotations  from  a  Sermon. — First  Lines  of  some  of  the  Hymns. — 
A  Woman  on  Fire. — Disadvantage  of  Wearing  a  Hoop  Skirt. — 
Nearing  Civilization. 


For  one  to  undertake  a  description  of  the  manners 
and  customs  of  the  South  without  including  a  camp 
meeting,  would  be  as  futile  as  for  the  continental  tourist 
to  essay  a  description  of  Rome  with  St.  Peter's  left  out: 
for  as  St.  Peter's  is  a  fair  type  of  the  predominating 
religious  sentiment  of  the  inhabitants  of  that  city,  to  an 
ecpual  degree  does  the  camp  meeting  of  the  South  serve 
as  an  exponent  of  the  moral  and  religious  tendencies  of 
the  colored  people  there;  and  since  in  many  sections  of 
the  South  the  colored  people  constitute  not  only  the 
bone  and  sinew  of  the  land,  but  also  give  to  it  whatever 
of  soul  and  vitalit}'  it  ma}'  possess,  it  follows  that  what- 
ever interests  them  pertains  to  all. 

It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  then  that  when  our  part}', 
having  left  the  deserted  mansion  and  plantation  in  the 


120 

rear,  approached  the  site  where  during  the  previous  fall 
the  residents  of  the  surrounding  country  had  held  a 
great  camp  meeting,  we  were  inspired  with  feelings  akin 
to  awe  and  made  to  audibly  soliloquize,  as  we  dismounted 
and  closely  scrutinized  every  object  of  interest  connected 
with  it — like  the  reverential  son  of  the  Emerald  Isle  on  a 
former  occasion — "  tread  lightly,  for  its  on  howly  groun' 
that  ye  are."  There  was  the  vast  auditorium  just  as  it 
was  left  at  the  close  of  the  previous  season  of  religious 
excitement.  Its  construction  was  the  acme  of  simplicity 
and  economy.  Posts,  forked  at  the  top,  were  planted  in 
the  ground;  upon  these,  poles  were  laid  in  a  longitudinal 
direction;  resting  upon  them,  transversely,  other  poles 
were  placed  to  form  a  roof,  and  the  whole  was  then 
covered  over  with  branches  and  twigs,  thus  affording  an 
excellent  protection  against  the  force  of  the  sun's  ra3Ts 
or  the  dews  of  the  evening.  At  one  end  of  this  pavilion 
was  a  rude  perch,  which  served  the  purpose  of  a  pulpit; 
split  logs,  with  the  flat  side  up  and  holes  bored  in  the 
rounded  side  for  the  accommodation  of  legs,  answered 
the  purpose  of  seats;  while  without,  surrounding  all,  at 
irregular  intervals,  were  little  arbors  or  booths,  furnished 
with  rustic  tables  and  seats,  which  answered  every  pur- 
pose of  domestic  use  to  the  weary  pilgrim  who  had  per- 
formed his  hegira  to  this  Mecca  of  his  ambition. 

Such  were  the  appointments  of  this  rustic  fane;  and 
as  Jones  drank  in  the  scene  and  descanted  on  his  former 


121 

experiences  at  similar  places,  his  religious  enthusiasm 
was  with  difficulty  repressed.  For  be  it  remembered, 
like  other  members  of  the  colored  race,  especially  in  the 
sunny  South,  his  religious  tendencies  were  strong  and 
required  but  little  of  exhortation  or  song  to  fan  them  to 
a  glowing  flame.  On  more  occasions  than  one  has  the 
writer  been  awakened  from  a  profound  slumber  at  the 
dead  hour  of  night  by  the  loud  and  earnest  supplications 
of  cousin  Henry.  Those  occasions  generally  immediately 
preceeded  or  attended  a  season  of  physical  suffering  or 
business  embarrassment,  but  rarely  followed  them;  and, 
being  blessed  with  a  pair  of  healthy  lungs,  they  were 
matters  of  common  notoriety  among  the  neighbors,  and 
frequently  cost  him  much  embarrassment  when  in  his 
more  prosperous  seasons  he  became  so  recreant  as  to 
indulge  in  profanity. 

Much  has  been  attributed  to  the  colored  people  on 
the  score  of  religious  sentiment,  while  their  prayers  and 
melodious  songs,  ascending  from  the  cane-brakes  and 
cabins  of  the  South,  have  found  a  place  in  works  of  fact 
as  well  as  fiction,  and  many  a  tear  of  genuine  sym- 
pathy has  started  to  the  eyes  of  humane  persons  on 
hearing  the  mournful  wail,  as  imitated  by  the  now 
ubiquitous  jubilee  singer  of  the  stage. 

The  questions  have  often  been  asked  whether  this 
religious  enthusiasm,  exhibited  in  so  many  and  vigorous 
ways,  is  a  peculiar  characteristic  of  the  African  race,  or 


122 

is  it  begotten  by  the  weak  and  oppressed  condition  in 
which  they  are  placed  in  this  country?  Were  their  con- 
dition reversed  and  if,  instead  of  having  been  enslaved 
and  persecuted  the}'  had  been  free  and  favored,  instead 
of  being  poor  and  subject  to  caste  proscription  they 
were  rich  and  preferred,  would  that  same  religious  fer- 
vency and  zeal  be  conspicuous? 

Nor  is  the  writer  prepared  to  conscientiously  answer 
these  questions  in  an  unequivocal  manner.  A  well- 
known  writer,  speaker  and  agitator  in  the  anti- 
slaveiy  cause  of  this  country,  once  said,  in  substance, 
from  the  rostrum  that  were  it  not  for  the  vivacity  of  the 
African  disposition,  and  the  great  fund  of  religious  sen- 
timent which  characterizes  him,  he  never  could  have 
survived  his  afflictions  in  this  country  in  his  present 
condition.  Instead  of  multiplying,  he  would  have 
decreased  numericall}";  instead  of  maintaining  his 
pristine  physical  and  intellectual  force,  he  would  have 
degenerated,  and  the  imbecile  and  insane  asjdums  of  the 
land,  as  well  as  the  infirmaries,  would  to-day  be  full  to 
overflowing. 

I  raise  no  issue  with  the  gentleman,  for  he  may  be 
correct  in  his  conclusions,  but  by  no  means  do  I  desire 
to  claim  for  the  race  with  which  I  am  identified  any 
greater  degree  or  different  quality  of  intellect  or  morality 
than  is  possessed  by  the  average  races  of  the  human 
family  on  the  face  of  the  earth.     And  I  think   I  speak 


123 

the  sentiments  of  a  majority  of  the  more  thoughtful 
members  of  our  race  when  I  say.  if  we  have  only  accorded 
to  us  the  credit  of  possessing  such  ordinary  and  reason- 
able qualities  of  mind  and  soul  as  are  the  mead  of  men 
in  general,  together  with  a  fair  opportunity  in  the  race 
of  life  of  proving  them,  we  shall  be  satisfied  therewith. 
Other  races  have  been  oppressed,  and  severely,  too,  and 
their  oppressions  followed  seasons  of  prosperity,  which 
made  it  all  the  more  unendurable;  and  yet  they  lived 
through  it  and  prospered.  Such  was  the  case  with  the 
Helots  of  Greece,  and  such  the  condition  of  the  Saxons 
after  the  advent  of  William  the  Conqueror,  not  to  men- 
tion instances  of  less  note  in  other  countries  at  different 
times. 

I  have  noticed  that  afflictions  in  any  form  have  a 
tendency  to  soften  the  hearts  and  quicken  the  consciences 
of  persons  of  all  colors  and  conditions;  and,  in  the 
course  of  the  writer's  legal  experience,  he  has  borne 
witness  to  the  marvellous  conversion  of  some  very 
hardened  criminals — men  who  to  all  appearances  were 
incorrigible,  and  had  previously  been  given  up  as  lost. 

Who  that  has  been  present  on  the  occasion  of  a  storm 
at  sea,  railroad  accident,  or  other  threatened  or  actual 
calamity,  when  hardened  sinners,  (old  men,  in  some 
instances,  who  had  not  thought  of  supplicating  the 
Throne  of  Grace  since  their  mothers  taught  them  around 
the  family  altar  to  lisp  their  infant  prayers,)  upon  bended 


124 

knees,  with  their  countenances  bathed  in  tears  of  peni- 
tance,  were  pouring  forth  their  souls  in  earnest  suppli- 
cations, has  not  experienced  the  truth  of  the  observation? 

Is  it  to  be  wondered  at,  in  view  of  the  fact  of  our 
sufferings  and  afflictions  in  this  land,  that  the  past  and 
present  generations  of  colored  men  have  betokened,  by 
their  prayers  and  songs,  a  deep  sense  of  their  dependence 
upon  the  God  of  nations,  and  trust  in  Him  for  a  happy 
issue  of  their  cause?  I  think  not.  We  are  led  to  believe 
from  the  accounts  of  African  travelers  that  when 
in  his  native  land,  surrounded  by  the  incidents  pertain- 
ing to  his  barbarous  condition,  he  is  brave  and  daring, 
and  that  his  actions  betray  no  greater  degree  of  religious 
enthusiasm  than  is  to  be  seen  among  nations  of  a  lighter 
hue.  Witness  the  struggles  of  the  savage  Zulus  during 
their  recent  war  with  the  English. 

But  to  return  to  the  camp  meeting.  The  writer 
recalls  in  a  very  vivid  manner  an  evening  passed  at  a 
place  similar  to  the  one  now  before  us,  less  than  a  year 
ago,  when  it  seemed  as  though  the  whole  region  was 
seized  with  a  religious  mania,  little  short  of  absolute 
insanity.  For  weeks  previous,  the  camp  meeting  was 
the  only  subject  worthy  of  discussion  and  it  over- 
shadowed everything  else,  except  the  one  practical 
matter  of  obtaining  daily  bread.  Small  bits  of  money 
were  treasured  up,  new  gowns  and  turbans,  flashing  in 
their  ruddy  hues  were  bought  and  prepared;  chickens, 


125 

ducks  and  suckling  pigs  were  fattened ;  all  in  anticipation 
of  the  great  event.  And  when  the  time  came,  such  a 
gathering  of  the  neighboring  clans  as  took  place  beggars 
description.  To  say  that  the  preaching,  singing  or  pray- 
ing was  artistic  would  not  be  true,  and  to  say  it  was  earnest 
would  be  less  than  truth,  for  it  was  something  more;  it 
was  violent,  it  was  emotional,  it  was  comical.  The  ser- 
mon, as  near  as  we  can  remember,  was  a  strange  mix- 
ture of  eloquence  and  humor,  and  some  of  the  observa- 
tions made  by  the  preacher  were  absolutely  startling  in 
their  nature.  In  referring  to  the  expulsion  of  the 
money-changers  and  those  that  sold  doves  from  the 
Temple  by  the  Savior,  he  represented  the  Savior  as 
"going  in"  with  his  sleeves  rolled  up;  and,  again,  in 
accounting  for  the  ascension  of  the  Savior  into  heaven 
after  the  resurrection,  he  swept  away  all  theories  and 
speculations  with  a  single  motion  of  the  hand,  and  in 
his  imagination  pictured  a  windlass  in  heaven  with  a 
golden  cord  attached  thereto,  to  one  end  of  which,  be- 
ing lowered,  the  Savior  was  clinging,  while  beautiful 
angels,  robed  in  white,  labored  at  cranks  to  wind  him 
up.  The  singing  was  peculiar,  defying  all  attempts  on 
the  part  of  the  average  novice  at  imitation;  but  for  the 
purpose  of  conveying  onl}-  a  faint  idea  of  its  character 
to  the  uninitiated  we  will  quote  the  first  lines  of  a  few 
of  them.  One  which  was  suns:  with  great  earnestness 
commenced  as  follows; 


126 

"  Look  out  dar,  sinner,  how  you  trample  on  de  cross, 
If  your  foot  should  slip  you  are  shoah  to  get  los', 
I'm  gvvine  ter  jine  de  b-a-n',  I'm  gwine  to  jine  de  ban'." 

Another  less  solemn  but  more  suggestive  ran  as  fol- 
follows: 

"  I  wish  ole  Satan  would  be  still, 
Gwine  ter  git  a  home  bimeby ; 
An'  let  me  do  my  marster's  will, 
Gwine  ter  git  a  home  bimeby." 

Still  another  expression  of  the  trials  and  tribulations 
of  this  life  ran  as  follows: 

"  Sometimes  I'm  up,  sometimes  I'm  down, 
Sometimes  I'm  almos'  on  de  groun'." 

These  are  but  a  drop  in  the  bucket  as  compared  with 
the  oceans  of  poetry  and  music  indulged  in  on  that 
occasion,  under  the  inspiration  of  which  the  brothers 
and  sisters  would  not  onty  pat  their  feet  and  clap  their 
hands  together,  but  shout,  jumping  about,  pulling  at 
imaginary  ropes,  as  if  in  the  very  act  of  climbing  up 
into  heaven,  and  in  some  instances  actually  fainting  and 
being  carried  out  and  laid  in  a  cool  place.  I  blush  to 
say  it,  but  it  is  nevertheless  true,  it  sometimes  happened 
that  a  sister  who  possessed  a  bonnet  or  dress  a  little 
newer  in  style,  or  more  brilliant  in  colors,  suffered  the 
mortification  of  having  it  partly  torn  from  her  by  some 
jealous  sister  while  under  the  influence  of  the  spirit  and 
engaged  in  one  of  these  demonstrations. 


127 

For  such  l'easons  as  the  one  just  related,  the  writer 
has  often  feared  that  much  of  the  apparent  religious 
enthusiasm  on  the  part  of  some  of  these  people  is 
feigned;  on   the  other  hand,  some  are  sincere. 

It  happened  upon  an  occasion  similar  to  the  one 
spoken  of,  when  the  writer  was  a  silent  observer,  that  a 
burly  man,  who  sat  next  to  him,  suddenly,  and  without 
any  warning,  fell  over  and  kicked  out  with  his  feet,  one 
of  them  coming  in  close  proximity  to  our  nasal  pro- 
tuberance. Now  it  happens  that  if  there  is  one  member 
of  the  writer's  body  that  he  is  more  jealous  of  than  any 
other  it  is  his  nose,  hence  he  has  not,  up  to  the  present 
time,  ceased  congratulating  himself  upon  his  fortunate 
escape,  for  there  is  no  room  for  a  reasonable  doubt  that, 
had  he  been  struck  in  the  face  with  the  heavy  brogan 
worn  by  the  stricken  brother,  his  countenance  would 
have  been  spoiled  for  all  time  to  come.  The  ''mourner" 
had  reason  to  be  offended  at  the  writer,  because  of  the 
very  active  part  he  had  taken  against  him  in  a  law  suit  a 
short  time  previous  to  this  occurrence,  and  whether  he 
had  adopted  that  mode  of  repairing  his  injured  feelings, 
does  not  plainly  appear. 

At  another  time  when  we  were  present,  the  chandelier, 
which  consisted  of  a  coal  oil  lamp,  lashed  to  a  joist 
over  head,  fell  with  a  crash  in  the  middle  of  the  minis- 
ter's discourse,  and  the  oil,  immediately  igniting,  set  fire 
to  the  clothes  of  a  lad}7  sitting  near  by.     Vain  were  the 


128 

frantic  efforts  of  the  young  gentlemen  present  to  extin- 
guish the  flames,  for,  despite  their  efforts  to  smother 
them,  a  metallic  hoopskirt,  worn  by  the  damsel,  persisted 
in  expanding  her  burning  clothing  and  burning  their 
hands.  The  heat  increasing,  and  the  life  of  the  victim 
being  threatened,  it  became  essential  that  something 
should  be  done,  and  that  quickly.  In  such  an  emer- 
gency, a  plain-looking  old  gentleman,  wearing  a  white 
fur  hat  of  the  style  prevalent  in  the  days  of  our  revolu- 
tionary sires,  came  forward,  bearing  in  his  hand  a 
hickory  cane,  with  one  end  crooked : 

"  Not  the  least  obeisance  made  he  ; 
Not  a  moment  stopped  or  stayed  he ;  " 

but,  with  a  look  of  placid  confidence  on  his  countenance, 
he  raised  the  cane  aloft,  with  the  crooked  end  thrust  for- 
ward, and  without  uttering  a  word  hooked  it  into  the  skirt 
and  relieved  the  embarrassed  wearer,  but  left  her  in  a 
costume  which  carried  the  mind  of  the  observer  back  to 
the  da}rs  of  our  first  parents  in  the  garden  of  Eden.  Not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  enthusiasm  ran  high  before  the 
accident, it  now  disappeared;  the  exhorter  was  gone,  and 
those  who  were  loudest  in  their  demonstrations  were 
rushing  wildl}T  around,  like  sheep  without  a  shepherd. 

The  following  anecdote  is  related  upon  the  authorit}T 
of  a  gentleman  who  was  present,  and  vouches  for  the 
truthfulness  of  it.  During  the  winter  of  1870  or  1871, 
a  "protracted"  meeting  was  in  progress  in  one  of  the 


129 

most  notorious  of  the  colored  churches  of  the  city  of 
Philadelphia.  For  more  than  three  weeks  excitement  ran 
high,  and  many  were  converted — some  bona  fide,  others 
not.  Complaints,  numerous  and  emphatic,  had  been 
lodged  with  the  authorities  concerning  disturbances 
created  b}r  irresponsible  persons,  who  had  attended  these 
meetings  and  who,  in  passing  through  the  streets  at 
unseemly  hours,  made  disturbance  by  reason  of  their 
cries  and  groans.  On  the  occasion  referred  to,  a  group  of 
eight  or  ten  persons  were  passing  along  a  thickly  popu- 
lated street,  having  in  charge  a  pretended  mourner  of 
rather  demonstrative  tendencies.  The}7  had  labored 
over  her  all  the  evening,  and  now  that  the  night  was  far 
spent,  having  failed  in  accomplishing  any  perceptible 
result,  they  were  considerately  conducting,  aye,  even 
carrying  her  home;  for  the  influence  under  which  she 
was  laboring  was  so  powerful  as  to  deprive  her  of  the 
use  of  her  limbs,  but  not  of  her  tongue.  Onward  they 
bore  the  sister  as  she,  erstwhile,  gave  forth  a  series  of 
shrieks  and  groans  that  were  truly  heart-rending;  while 
her  comforters  addressed  themselves  to  her  somewhat 
after  the  following  manner:  "Give  up  yo'  hart  to  de 
Lo'd,  chile,  rite  now;''''  "Let  go  dem  flesh-pots  ob  Egyp', 
sinner,  an'  cum  eat  milk  an'  honey."  At  that  juncture  a 
minion  of  the  law,  wearing  a  uniform,  appeared  upon  the 
scene  of  action.  "What  have  you  got  there?"  he  said, 
addressing   the   leading  comforter.     "A  m-o-u-r-n-e-r," 

TT 


130 

she  answered.  "A  what!"  exclaimed  the  policeman. 
"A  m-o-u-r-n-e-r,  sir,"  was  again  answered.  ''Well!" 
exclaimed  the  officer,  "  that's  a  pretty  row  to  be  raising 
on  the  streets  at  this  hour  of  the  night.  If  you  don't 
get  to  your  houses  in  a  hurry  I  shall  lock  you  up."  At 
the  mention  of  the  lock-up  the  mourner  was  dropped  and 
left  to  shift  for  herself,  and,  though  the  remainder  of  the 
party  were  rapid  in  their  flight,  she  distanced  them  all, 
and  led  the  inglorious  retreat. 

I  hope  no  one  will  gain  the  impression  from  what  has 
been  written  that  the  writer  would  cast  an}'-  reflection  of 
an  improper  character  upon  the  Christian  religion,  or 
ridicule  the  efforts  of  the  humblest  worker  in  the  vine- 
yard of  the  Lord ;  for  he  recognizes  the  vastness  of  the 
responsibility  any  one  must  necessarily  incur  who  has 
the  effrontery  to  do  such  a  thing.  If  there  is  one  thing, 
however,  that  we  hate  and  detest  upon  earth  more  than 
another,  that  thing  is  hypocrisy.  Hence  we  have  no 
scruples  in  mimicing  or  ridiculing  whatever  savors  of 
duplicity  in  religion,  believing  that  he  who  steals  the 
livery  of  heaven  to  serve  the  devil  in  is  just  as  much  a 
thief  and  a  robber  as  he  who  cracks  a  safe  or  robs  a 
bank;  and  more  contemptible,  because  he  cowardly 
uses  the  means  provided  for  the  accomplishment  of 
noble  ends  as  a  blind  to  the  dishonorable  aims  in  view 
on  his  part. 

But  we  linger  around  this  old  camping  ground  too 


131 

long;  we  must  go.  Again  we  are  mounted  and  pur- 
suing our  journey.  Our  distance  is  growing  beautifully 
less,  and  expectation  runs  high,  predicated  upon  our 
arrival  in  the  town.  Only  ten  miles  further,  and  our 
journey  will  have  ended. 


CHAPTEK  X. 


The  Ku  Klux-Klan. — Its  Origin. — Its  Name. — Objects  and 
Deeds  of  Violence.— Recollections  of  its  Early  Days. — Proofs  of  its 
Existence. — What  Hon.  Reverdy  Johnson  thought  of  its  Members. 
— The  Origin  of  the  Exodus,  and  Probable  Result. 


We  bad  only  proceeded  a  short  distance  further  on 
our  way,  when  we  were  confronted  by  the  charred  re- 
mains of  what  had  been  a  dwelling  house. 

"  What's  that?"  1  asked  for  the  hundredth  time,  ad- 
dressing Jones. 

"That,"  said  he,  "is  the  work  of  the  Ku-Klux-Klan. 
The  man  who  lived  there  was  nominated  for  an  office  of 
inconsiderable  importance;  but  being  a  "Yankee"  and  for 
that  reason  displeasing  to  his  Democratic  neighbors,  he 
was  warned  to  leave  the  country;  and  failing  to  heed 
the  notice,  he  was  taken  from  his  house  one  night  by  a 
body  of  masked  men,  given  a  coat  of  tar  and  feathers, 
and  twenty-four  hours  in  which  to  make  his  escape. 
After  that  treatment  he  hesitated  no  longer,  but  left  for 
parts  unknown,  glad  enough  to  be  spared  his  life.  On 
the  following  night  his  house,  with  all  its  contents,  were 
burned  to  the  ground,  and  left  in  the  condition  you  now 
see  it." 


133 

Further  inquiry  only  tended  to  strengthen  the  truth 
of  Jones'  statement;  not  only  this  but  the  additional 
fact  that  throughout  the  region  we  were  then  traversing, 
there  was  a  thoroughly  organized  association  of  men 
under  the  name  given  above.  The  Ku-Klux  Klan  was 
an  organization  conceived  in  sin,  and  born  in  iniquity; 
based  not  so  much  upon  any  wrongs  or  oppression  that 
its  members  were  actually  suffering  at  the  hands  of 
the  members  of  the  newly  organized  government  of 
the  State,  as  upon  an  imagined  violence  done  to  "all 
their  preconceived  opinions  and  prejudices,"  in  the  lan- 
guage of  our  Southern  correspondent,  whose  letter  we 
have  given  in  a  previous  chapter.  One  of  those  opinions 
was  that  the  South  ought  to  have  been  left  alone  to 
secede  from  the  Union  of  these  States,  and  not  re- 
strained bjr  the  vigorous  North;  hence  a  violence  had 
been  done  the  South  in  restraining  her.  Another  opin- 
ion was  that,  after  having  been  scourged  back  into  the 
line  of  States,  South  Carolina  ought  to  have  been  given 
loose  reins  to  reconstruct  herself,  and  make  her  own 
laws;  even  though  their  tendency  were  such  as  to 
crush  out  every  spark  of  civil  life  from  the  freedmen, 
deprive  them  of  their  newly  acquired  political  privileges, 
and  relegate  them  to  the  condition  of  "corn-field  dar- 
kies," with  overseers  to  crack  their  whips  over  their 
heads,  and  not  even  a  master  to  say  them  nay.  Vio- 
lence had  been  done  to  their  "  preconceived  opinions" 


134 

by  denying  them  this  privilege,  and  to  cap  the  climax, 
their  ''preconceived  prejudices"  had  been  violated  by  per 
mitting  "corn-field  darkies  and  army  sutlers''  to  hold 
offices  of  emolument  and  trust,  notwithstanding  the  fact 
they  utterl}'  refused  to  fraternize  with  them  even  politi- 
cally, and  reap  a  portion  of  the  benefits  accruing  there- 
from. There  was  no  reasonable  cause  of  complaint 
existing  on  the  part  of  the  people  of  that  State 
that  could  not  have  been  adjusted  by  lawful  means 
entirely  within  their  power  and  under  their  control; 
and  that,  in  any  one  of  our  more  considerate  States 
of  the  North  would  have  been  modified  without  resort 
to  violence  and  incendiarism.  Not  so  with  these  im- 
pulsive people,  however.  "  Their  preconceived  opinions 
and  prejudices"  had  been  violated,  and  now,  just  as 
when  the  Republican  party  of  the  North  had  violated 
them  by  electing  Abraham  Lincoln  to  the  Presidential 
chair,  nothing  short  of  blood  would  wipe  out  the  stain. 

The}-  regarded  the  !f  carpet-bagger  "  as  the  common 
foe,  and,  as  a  consequence,  all  arguments  that  could  be 
lavished  upon  him,  having  in  view  his  conversion  to 
their  doctrines,  would  be  worse  than  wasted.  Hence 
they  let  him  severely  alone,  and  in  his  state  of  ostracism 
he  was  left  to  fraternize  with  "  corn-field  darkies "  or 
else  live  the  life  of  a  hermit.     He  chose  the  former. 

But  to  the  colored  men  they  poured  forth  their  souls 
in  all  the  eloquence  at  their  command,  in  the  vain  effort 


135 

to  lure  them  back  again  to  all  their  former  felicities  (?). 
In  this  attempt  as  well  they  were  doomed  to  disappoint- 
ment, for  their  colored  brethren  had  lived  among  them 
long  enough  to  understand  the  difference  between  free- 
dom and  slaver}',  and  took  no  heed  of  their  prayers  and 
entreaties.  The  colored  men  were  then,  as  now,  true  to 
the  cause  of  the  Union.  They  had  prayed  for  it;  they 
had  fought  for  it;  and  now  the}T  would  vote  for  it,  and  not 
all  the  fair  promises  of  their  former  masters,  nor  even 
the  reputed  wealth  of  the  Indies  could  swerve  them  one 
inch  from  their  recognized  path  of  duty.  I  have  known 
freedmen  to  walk  twenty  miles,  in  a  thinly  populated 
region,  to  the  nearest  voting  precinct  to  cast  their  ballots, 
even  when  they  knew  that  such  action  on  their  part 
widened  the  breach  between  them  and  their  employers 
and  jeopardized  their  dearest  interests,  so  true  were  they 
to  the  principles  which  they  had  espoused.  Being  foiled 
in  their  efforts  to  coax  or  scare  their  former  slaves  into  a 
support  of  their  "preconceived  opinions  and  prejudices," 
and  being  fully  determined  to  yield  no  jot  or  tittle  to  the 
policy  pursued  b\*  the  Republican  party,  as  a  last  resort, 
and  one  more  in  consonance  with  their  tastes,  inclina- 
tions and  early  training,  thep  adopted  the  policy  now 
known  as  ku-klux-ism — a  policy  of  cowardice,  perjury, 
rapine  and  murder;  one  ill-suited  to  any  people  other 
than  such  as  are  found  in  the  South  among  her  half 
civilized  white  population. 


136 

The  "klan"  was  thoroughly  organized,  having  a 
ritual,  signs,  grips  and  passwords,  They  wore  masks  to 
conceal  their  cowardly  faces,  and  bound  each  other  with 
a  solemn  oath  not  to  reveal  the  name  of  any  member, 
nor  divulge  any  secret  of  the  order. 

Their  name,  "  Ku-Klux-Klan,"  is  said  to  have  been 
suggested  to  them  by  the  sound  made  in  the  act  of 
cocking  and  discharging  the  rifles  and  shot-guns  carried 
by  them — the  first  two  syllables  being  repeated  in  a 
subdued  tone  of  voice,  as  Ku  Klux,  represented  the 
cocking  of  the  piece;  while  the  last  sjdlable,  Klan,  being 
repeated  with  emphasis,  betokened  its  discharge. 

The  objects  of  the  Klan,  as  have  been  already  hinted 
at,  were  to  banish  the  so-called  "  carpet-baggers  "  from 
the  State,  restore  the  freeclmen  to  positions  of  serfdom 
under  their  former  masters,  and  regain  control  of  the 
government  of  the  State.  They  carried  a  knife  in  one 
hand  and  a  torch  in  the  other,  while  in  their  belt  they 
wore  a  revolver.  The  bull-whip  and  raw-hide  were  also 
instruments  of  their  torture,  and  made  to  produce 
arguments  which  none  dared  refute.  In  their  expedi- 
tions they  spared  neither  age,  sex  nor  color,  and  the 
reputation  of  being  a  "  black  republican  "  was  all  that 
was  needed  to  place  one  under  the  ban  of  their  con- 
demnation. 

To  note  the  progress  of  the  sentiment  which  culmin- 
ated in  the  organization  of  this  "Klan,"  was  a  matter  of 


137 

much  curiosity;  and  since  the  writer  was  located  in  one 
portion  of  the  Sate  of  South  Carolina,  from  its  inception 
until  its  discovery  and  prosecution  under  the  adminis- 
tration of  President  Grant,  he  enjoyed  man}-  facilities  in 
this  connection  not  within  reach  of  persons  at  a  dis- 
tance from  the  scene  of  their  diabolism. 

As  early  as  the  gubernatorial  contest  in  1870,  while 
the  writer,  with  others,  were  assisting  in  the  canvass  of 
the  State  in  behalf  of  the  Republican  party,  frequent 
paroxysms  of  rage  were  noted  on  the  part  of  the  "  re- 
spectable people"  of  the  State,  which  on  more  occasions 
than  one,  well  nigh  resulted  in  blood  shed.  In  one 
instance  this  was  so  manifestly  true  that  ever  afterward 
our  party  went  out  "  upon  the  stump"  prepared  for  the 
worst.  On  the  occasion  referred  to,  while  one  of  us, 
mounted  upon  a  rustic  rostrum,  was  descanting  on 
the  evils  of  Democratic  rule,  and  lauding  to  the  skies  the 
magnanimous  policy  of  the  Republican  party,  a  coarse 
looking  man  with  his  pants  tucked  into  the  legs  of  a 
pair  of  cow-hide  boots,  and  wearing  a  broad-brimmed 
straw  hat,  who  had  been  standing  under  a  tree  near  by 
with  a  few  others  of  similar  stamp,  paring  a  sweet 
potato  with  a  dangerous  looking  knife  which  he  held  in 
his  hand,  becoming  incensed  at  something  which  the 
speaker  said,  dropped  his  potato,  and  brandishing  his 
knife,  rushed  toward  him.  In  an  instant  a  dozen  sable 
sons  of  our  party  stood   between  the  speaker  and  his 

T5 


138 

assailant,"and  with  drawn  blades  defied  the  assassin  to 
touch  a  hair  of  his  head.  His  violence  soon  subsided 
without  harm  being  done. 

On  another  occasion,  when  the  orator  of  the  day, 
during  the  delivery  of  a  Fourth  of  July  oration,  was 
drawing  a  very  striking  contrast  between  the  times 
that  had  been  and  those  that  were,  a  former  nominee  of 
the  Democratic  party  for  Congressman  who  was  present, 
took  umbrage  at  something  that  was  said,  and  catching 
the  speaker  by  one  leg  attempted  to  pull  him  from  the 
stand.  He  came  well  nigh  being  paid  for  his  temerity 
by  a  thrust  from  a  sword  in  the  hands  of  one  of  the 
audience,  who  was  a  captain  of  militia.  And  thus  on 
nearly  eveiy  occasion  that  offered  these  offended  people 
would  betoken  their  active  hostility  to  every  thing  of  a 
political  nature  not  in  full  harmony  with  "  all  their  pre- 
conceived opinions  and  prejudices." 

As  time  wore  on  apace  their  opposition  increased  in 
virulence,  and  assumed  a  more  open  form.  About  six 
months  later  direct  opposition  in  the  nature  of  Ku-Klux 
outrages  began  to  be  felt  and  heard  from.  In  the 
adjoining  county  a  white  Republican  wras  summoned  to 
his  door  one  night  by  the  usual  alarm;  he  went  accom- 
panied by  his  wife  and  daughter,  and  instead  of 
welcoming  a  neighbor  or  friend  who  had  come  to  per- 
form a  friendly  errand,  the}7  were  confronted  by  a  band 
of  Ku-Klux,  who,  without  any  word  of  warning  or  even 


139 

opportunity  of  making  his  peace  with  his  God,  shot  him 
down  like  a  dog. 

In  another  section  of  the  State  a  loving  husband  and 
kind  father  was  bound  and  flogged  in  the  presence  of 
his  family,  because  he  heeded  not  their  warning  to  desist 
from  taking  an  active  part  in  the  campaign  then  inau- 
gurated; houses  and  well-tilled  barns  were  burned  and  a 
perfect  reign  of  terror  inaugurated.  Their  deeds  of 
violence  being  heralded  abroad,  alarm  seized  upon  all 
Republicans  who  inhabited  sparsely- settled  counties, 
having  their  places  of  abode,  in  some  instances,  sepa- 
rated by  miles  of  intervening  forest,  and  their  cries  for 
help  were  such  as  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  General 
Government,  who  sent  its  ministers  of  justice  to  the 
scene,  where  a  full  investigation  of  the  transactions  of 
the  infamous  "  Klan  "  was  had.  of  which  more  anon. 

It  was  at  about  this  time  that  numerous  suspicious 
looking  "  dodgers.''  written  in  an  unknown  hand,  were 
scattered  promiscuously  through  the  streets  and  stores 
of  Hudsonvilie.  some  of  them  even  having  been  posted 
to  the  trees  of  the  Public  Square  during  the  night  time. 
These  dodgers  and  placards  bore  threats  of  vengeance 
swift  and  dire  to  all  who  belonged  to  the  "  black  Repub- 
lican part}-,1'  unless  they  severed  their  connection  with 
it,  and  prophesied  that  the  day  of  retribution  was  near 
at  hand.  To  the  State  senator  representing  our  own 
county  they  said,  "  Beware,  oh,  beware !    Your  doom  is 


140 

sealed!"  Under  the  circumstances,  we  were  alarmed. 
It  is  true  that  a  matter  of  a  similar  nature  in  the  well- 
regulated  North  would  have  excited  only  derision  at  the 
expense  of  the  originators  of  the  scheme;  but  in  that 
disturbed  locality,  with  many  recent  murders  staring  us 
in  the  face,  and  a  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  in  other 
sections  of  the  State  much  violence  had  been  committed 
by  this  same  organization.  I  think  our  perturbation  was 
excusable.  Accordingly,  during  the  following  night  and 
several  others  thereafter,  every  able-bodied  man  in  the 
village,  of  both  colors,  who  had  at  heart  the  welfare  of 
the  party  and  its  threatened  representatives,  was  sum- 
moned to  do  guard  duty  at  the  house  of  our  senator,  as 
well  as  to  patrol  the  streets,  in  anticipation  of  any  out- 
burst of  violence. 

The  first  night  was  dark  and  dismal;  the  rain  fell  in 
torrents,  drenching  everything  exposed  to  its  action; 
and  the  darkness  was  so  intense  as  to  be  almost  felt, 
save  when  an  occasional  flash  of  lightning  exposed  all 
nature  to  view,  and  filled  the  imagination  with  weird 
forms.  On  such  a  night  as  the  foregoing  the  writer  was 
summoned  to  do  guard  duty.  He  had  just  retired  for 
the  night,  and  his  wife  and  little  infant,  snugly  ensconced, 
were  protected  from  the  fury  of  the  elements.  It  was  a 
sore  affliction  to  arise  and  go  forth  into  that  pelting 
storm,  but  when  duty  called  we  had  to  obey.  My  wife 
suggested  that,  owing  to  the  inclemency  of  the  weather, 


141 

the  clanger  migkt  not  be  great  on  that  occasion,  for 
surely,  she  said,  the  Ku-Klux  would  not  venture  forth  in 
such  weather;  however,  remembering  the  old  maxim, 
"The  darker  the  night,  the  darker  the  deed,"  we  trusted 
them  as  to  nothing,  and  obeyed  the  summons.  Why 
were  we  thus  deprived  of  our  needed  and  dearly-bought 
rest?  What  had  we  done  contrary  to  our  country's  weal? 
What  law  had  been  broken  or  set  at  defiance  that  we, 
like  fugitives  from  justice,  were  driven  from  pillar  to 
post  without  finding  rest  for  our  feet  or  place  to  lay  our 
heads?  Not  one  of  these  trespasses  had  we  been  guilty 
of,  and  yet  we  were  the  objects  of  their  relentless  perse- 
cutions. 

Whether  it  was  owing  to  our  continued  vigilance,  or 
to  some  stroke  of  policy  on  their  part,  I  cannot  say;  but, 
nevertheless,  the  Ku  Klux  did  not  visit  us  on  that  occa- 
sion, and  before  another  season  we  had  changed  our 
place  of  abode. 

Many  persons  in  both  sections  of  the  United  States 
have  affected  a  certain  incredulity  with  reference  to 
recitals  of  the  outrages  perpetrated  on  the  Republicans 
of  the  South  Ivy  this  infamous  band,  and  have  gone  so 
far  as  to  ridicule  the  very  idea  as  being  preposterous, 
and  stamp  it  as  a  trick  of  political  demagogues  to 
create  sympathy  on  the  part  of  the  people  of  the  North 
in  behalf  of  a  government  of  "  corn-field  darkies  and 
army  sutlers."     We  not  only  hurl  the  insinuation  back  at 


142 

them,  but  challenge  all  such  to  a  careftil  perusal  of  some 
of  the  admissions  of  their  most  able  men  and  public 
journals,  as  well  as  other  convincing  proofs  that  are  at  our 
command.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  thai,  upon  the  arrest 
and  prosecution  of  some  of  the  leaders  of  the'-  klan  '"  in 
the  State  of  South  Carolina,  during  the  winter  of  1S71, 
with  a  great  show  of  indignation  and  not  a  little  expense, 
Hon.  Reverdy  Johnson  was  procured  to  go  from  his 
pleasant  home  in  the  North  to  that  forsaken  country,  for 
the  purpose  of  making  a  defense  of  their  interests.  It 
was  a  matter  for  congratulation  on  the  part  of  many 
well-disposed  persons  in  the  North,  whose  minds  had 
become  somewhat  biased,  because  of  the  unfortunate 
reports  of  misrule  and  political  corruption  which  were 
constantly  coming  up  from  the  South,  as  well  as  the 
loud  protestations  of  innocence  that  were  constantly 
being  made  on  the  part  of  the  accused,  that  such  a  man 
as  Mr:  Johnson  had  been  selected  to  defend  these  cases; 
for,  knowing  his^politicai^predilections.  but  withal  hav- 
ing the  utmost  confidence  in  his  integrity  as  a  lawyer 
and  citizen,  they  felt  assured  that  the  truth,  pure  and 
simple,  would  be  disclosed.  Imagine  their  feelings  of  sur- 
prise then.  when,  after  a  protracted  trial,  guarded  by  all 
the  ingenuity  of  so  distinguished  an  attorney  as  he,  with 
full  and  free  access  to  every  means  of  defense,  Mr. 
Johnson,  in  the  course  of  his  speech  in  one  of  these  cases, 
on  the  olst  day  of  December,  1871,  in  the  presence  of 


113 

the  accused  and  their  friends,  delivered  himself  of  the 
following  sentiments: 

"I  have  listened  with  unmixed  horror  to  some  of  the 
testimony  which  has  been  brought  before  you.  The 
outrages  proved  are  shocking  to  humanity;  they  admit 
of  neither  excuse  nor  justification;  they  violate  every 
obligation  which  law  and  nature  impose  upon  men; 
they  show  that  the  parties  engaged  were  brutes,  insen- 
sible to  the  obligations  of  humanity  and  religion.  The 
.  day  will  come,  however,  if  it  has  not  already  arrived, 
when  they  will  deeply  lament  it.  Even  if  justice  shall 
not  overtake  them,  there  is  one  tribunal  from  which 
there  is  no  hope.  It  is  their  own  judgment" — that  tribu- 
nal which  sits  in  the  breast  of  every  living  man — that 
small,  still  voice  that  thrills  through  the  heart — the  soul 
of  the  mind,  and  as  it 'speaks,  gives  happiness  or  torture 
— the  voice  of  conscience,  the  voice  of  God.  If  it  has 
not  already  spoken  to  them  in  tones  which  have  startled 
them  to  the  enormity  of  their  conduct,  I  trust  in  the 
mercy  of  heaven,  that,  that  voice  will  speak  before  they 
shall  be  called  above  to  account  for  the  transactions  of 
this  world.  That  it  will  so  speak  as  to  make  them  peni- 
tent, and  that  trusting-  in  the  dispensation  of  Heaven, 
whose  justice  is  dispensed  with  mercy,  when  the}' shall 
be  brought  before  the  bar  of  their  great  tribunal,  so  to 
speak,  that  incomprehensible  tribunal,  there  will  be  found 


144 

in  the  fact  of  their  penitence,  or  in  their  previous  lives, 
some  grounds  upon  which  God  maj'  say,  'Pardon.'" 

Such  sentiments,  coming  from  the  lips  of  their  own 
paid  counsel,  together  with  the  fact  that  the  accused 
were  convicted  by  a  jury  of  their  peers,  ought  most 
assuredly  to  carry  conviction  with  them  to  the  mind  of 
every  fair  thinking  man.  But  if  anything  further  were 
needed,  let  the  following  from  a  Georgia  newspaper — 
the  Oglethorpe  Echo,  a  "Conservative"  paper  of  that 
section — speak :  "  Anthony  Thurster,  the  negro  preacher 
who  was  so  severely  whipped  by  a  partjr  of  disguised  men 
near  Maxlej^'s  lately,  asks  that  we  announce  to  his  white 
friends  that  from  this  time  forward  he  will  prove  himself 
a  better  man ;  will  never  again  make  a  political  speech, 
deliver  a  sermon,  or  vote  a  Republican  ticket ;  from 
henceforth  he  is  an  unswerving  Democrat.  We  are  glad 
that  Anthony's  eyes  are  at  last  opened  to  a  proper  course 
for  him  to  pursue,  but  sorry  that  such  stringent  measures 
had  to  be  adopted  ere  he  would,  as  it  were,  be  '  born 
again.'  " 

Again,  we  have  the  statement  of  H.  M.  Dixon,  who 
was  not  long  since  murdered  in  Mississippi  because  he 
dared  to  run  on  an  independent  ticket,  supported  by  men 
of  all  political  tendencies,  as  follows:  "  Owing  to  certain 
reports  that  Patterson,  a  member  of  the  Republican 
Legislature  who  was  hanged  in  the  eventful  campaign  of 
1875,  had  a  considerable  sum  of  money  on  his  person, 


145 

and  that  said  money  was  used  for  my  own  benefit,  I  feel 
in  honor  bound  to  vindicate  myself,  although  I  deplore 
to  refer  to  the  past  as  it  will  bring  before  the  public 
many  of  our  best  citizens.  I  will  briefly  state  that  said 
money,  and  larger  sums,  was  raised  to  defray  the  current 
expenses  of  the  campaign  and  to  stuff  the  ballot-boxes 
if  necessary ;  to  purchase  certificates  of  election  for  two 
officers  now  holding  offices  of  trust  and  emolument  in 
our  county.  I  have  in  my  possession  the  necessary 
proof,  and  if  called  upon  will  furnish  it.  Signed:  H.  M. 
Dixon." 

These  proofs,  together  with  the  voluminous  reports 
of  committees  appointed  by  Congress  to  investigate  this 
subject,  ought  to  leave  no  candid  man  in  doubt.  But  in 
addition  to  all  that  has  been  said  and  written  on  this 
subject,  if  more  were  needed,  we  have  a  condition  of  well- 
established  circumstances  more  patent  than  all.  Wit- 
nesses will  sometimes  falsify;  even  men  who  are  disposed 
to  deal  fairly  in  their  testimony,  at  times  become  biased 
by  reason  of  their  interest  in  the  issue  at  stake,  or,  per- 
haps, their  peculiar  surroundings;  but  circumstances, 
when  admitted,  never  lie.  What  shall  we  say  then  of 
the  sudden  and  precipitate  flight  of  the  men  of  the  North 
who  went  to  the  South  and  invested  their  capital  and 
labor,  intending,  in  good  faith,  to  become  residents  of 
that  section?     Surely  it  was  no  trivial  cause  that  pro- 


146 

ducecl  that  result.  The  Goldsboro,  North  Carolina,  State, 
commenting  on  this  action  on  the  part  of  this  class  of 
citizens  in  the  South,  uses  the  following  suggestive 
language: 

"  It  is  a  sad  fact  for  this  worn-out  and  famished 
State,  that  of  the  thousands  of  men  who  came  hither, 
invested  their  means,  and  attempted  to  make  homes 
under  Republican  rule,  to-day  but  few  remain.  At  the 
loss  of  their  all  they  have  wandered  away  to  seek  a  home 
where  they  can  speak  their  sentiments  and  vote  as  they 
deem  best,  without  subjection  to  insult,  abuse  and  villifi- 
cation  from  such  men  as  Governor  Vance.  Immigrants 
from  all  countries  and  all  states  pass  us  by,  the  "  carpet- 
baggers "  lose  their  all  rather  than  remain,  and  many  of 
her  own  sons  seek  in  states  where  schools,  polls  and 
speech  are  free — a  new  home." 

These  citations  are  in  part  from  sources  outside  of 
the  State  of  South  Carolina,  but  notwithstanding,  they 
show  a  common  purpose  and  unity  of  action  on  the  part 
of  the  Democratic  party  of  the  South,  to  usurp  by  unfair 
means  that  power  they  cannot  justly  obtain  at  the  ballot 
box,  and  trample  the  rights  of  others  under  their  feet. 

The  question  is  sometimes  asked:  "  Why  don't  the 
freedmen  fight?"  If  our  readers  will  for  a  moment  con- 
sider that  these  men  were,  from  their  infancj7,  taught  to 
fear  and  obe}7  white  men;  that  they  are  uneducated  and 


147 

unsophisticated,  while  their  former  masters  are  educated 
and  shrewd;  that  while  the  white  men  of  the  South  were 
educated  to  the  use  of  the  rifle  and  the  shot-gun,  the 
freedmen  were  kept  in  ignorance  of  their  use;  and 
further,  that  in  many  instances  the  freedmen  are  without 
leaders,  they  will  appreciate  the  condition  of  these  poor 
men  with  their  unfortunate  surroundings. 

In  our  humble  opinion  the  solution  of  the  problem  of 
the  future  of  the  South  is  involved  in  the  outcome  of 
the  present  movement  of  the  colored  farm  hands  of  the 
South  to  Northern  and  Western  States.  If  it  shall  con- 
tinue until  the  laboring  element  of  that  section  is 
materially  weakened,  a  change  of  policy  on  the  part  of 
the  intolerant  faction  there  will,  of  necessit}',  be  adopted; 
and  this  change  will  be  of  such  a  character  as  shall 
admit  to  equal  terms  of  civil  and  political  fraternity  the 
sable  freedmen  then  remainina;  anions;  them ;  or  else 
invite  as  participants  in  the  profits  of  their  estates,  a 
foreign  element  who  will  be  willing  to  cultivate  them 
and  preserve  them  from  ruin.  Time  alone  can  unfold 
the  result. 

Of  one  thing  there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt — the 
colored  men  of  the  South,  having  been  robbed  and  mur- 
dered, their  wives  and  daughters  having  been  subjected 
to  the  insults  and  outrages  of  a  brutalized  populace, 
have  long  since  become  disgusted,  and  now  having  their 


148 

eyes  opened  to  a  proper  sense  of  their  degradation  and 
abuse,  are  rapidly  seeking  homes  in  the  free  Northwest, 
where  they  can  serve  God  and  their  country  according 
to  the  dictates  of  tbeir  own  conscience,  and  reap  a  rich 
reward  as  the  result  of  honest  labor. 


CHAPTEE  XL 


The  Poor  Whites  of  the  South. — Contributing  Causes  of  their 
Present  Condition. — Their  Social  Status;  Habits  of  Life;  Means 
of  Support, — Dislike  of  them  hy  the  Colored  People  of  the  South. 
— Struggles  on  the  Part  of  Some  of  Them  to  Better  their  Condi- 
tion.— Eemarkable  Instances  of  Success. — Their  Future  in  This 
Country. 


We  were  now  nenring  our  journey's  end,  and  as  we 
graduall}T  approached  this  center  of  civilization  in  the 
"  Old  North  State,"  an  increased  degree  of  animation 
was  plainly  perceptible.  The  roads  became  more  nu- 
merous ;  the  antiquated  log  huts  of  the  route  gave  place 
to  houses  a  little  more  modern  and  pretentious  in 
appearance,  having  frames  and  being  covered  with  clap- 
boards. Nor  is  this  all.  The  inhabitants  of  the  country 
became  more  numerous — to  whom  our  little  procession, 
as  we  journej^ed  along,  was  a  source  of  much  curiosity 
and  more  speculation.  In  some  instances  a  woman's 
head  would  be  thrust  out  of  a  window  to  gain  a  view  of 
us;  in  others,  the  door  would  be  partly  opened  and  the 
end  of  a  nose  could  be  seen  protruding;  and,  then,  again 
the  whole  family  would  come  out,  and,  with  countenances 
full  of  blank  amazement,  stare  at  us  as  though  we  were 
the  first  living  specimens  of  humanity  they  had  enjoyed 
the  privilege  of  beholding  for  many  days, 


150 

It  was  during  our  passage  through  this  part  of  the 
country  that  we  enjoyed  an  excellent  opportunity  of 
observing  the  condition  and  social  habits  of  that  large 
and,  I  may  say,  unfortunate  class  of  people  who  inhabit 
eveiy  portion  of  the  South,  known  and  designated  as 
"poor  whites,"  who  must  not  be  confounded  with  the 
honest  laborers  of  the  North,  known  in  the  South  by  the 
Southern  chivalry  as  "  Northern  mud-sills."  I  say  un- 
fortunate because,  while  I  acknowledge  the  truth  of  the 
old  maxim — "  Eveiy  man  is  the  architect  of  his  own 
fortune," — I  believe  it  to  be  equally  true  that  we  are  all 
the  creatures  of  circumstances,  and,  to  some  extent,  "  it 
is  better  to  be  born  lucky  than  rich."  Many  a  person 
has  lived  his  allotted  span  and  gone  hence,  leaving 
behind  him  a  reputation,  among  his  fellows,  pure  and 
unspotted,  who  had  he  been  surrounded  by  a  different 
state  of  circumstances  during  his  lifetime  would  have 
made  shipwreck  of  his  most  favorable  opportunities. 
The  possession  of  means  in  abundance,  and  the  absence 
of  penury  and  want,  often  prevents  a  man  from  exhibit- 
ing a  thieving  disposition.  The  lack  of  an  occasion 
prevents,  in  some  instances,  a  dormant  mendacity  from 
asserting  itself;  while  the  absence  of  an  emergency, 
beyond  doubt,  relieves  the  world  of  a  murderer  in  many 
instances.  And,  vice  versa,  men  are  sometimes  reduced 
to  an  unfortunate  condition  of  life,  and  led  to  commit 


151 

acts  at  war  with  their  best  judgment  and  natural  incli- 
nations, from  the  sheer  force  of  circumstances. 

For  these  reasons,  I  refer  to  the  "  poor  whites  "  of 
the  South  as  an  unfortunate  class;  for,  in  my  opinion, 
the}T  are  the  unfortunate  victims  of  a  number  of  contrib- 
uting causes,  such  as  would  sink  any  people  on  the  face 
of  the  earth  to  a  similar  depth  of  physical,  intellectual 
and  moral  degradation,  anything  short  of  a  miracle 
intervening. 

To  begin,  then !  There  seems  to  be  little  room  for 
doubt  that  climatic  influences  have  contributed  toward 
the  present  condition  of  these  people,  for  their  emaciated 
bodies  and  sallow  complexions  are  just  such  as  one 
would  naturally  expect  to  encounter  under  the  debilita- 
ting influences  of  a  semi-tropical  clime,  in  the  absence 
of  such  hygienic  influences  as  may  be  artificially  applied 
toward  the  preservation  of  health.  It  is  a  well-known 
fact  that  climate  does  exert  an  influence  over  men  as 
well  as  the  lower  animals,  and  that  in  the  course  of  a 
protracted  time,  with  diet  and  habits  of  life  changed, 
men  and  animals  have  been  known  to  undergo  radical 
changes  of  a  physical  and  intellectual  character.  The 
hair  of  horses  has  become  to  closeh*  resemble  wool  after 
their  removal  from  a  temperate  to  a  tropical  clime.  The 
wool  of  sheep,  on  the  contrary,  has  taken  the  appear- 
ance of  hair;  colors  have  changed,  and,  in  short,  the 
course  of  nature  apparently  reversed.     (See  Narrative 


152 

of  a  Journey  Through  the  Upper  Provinces  of  India; 
second  edition :  London,  1828;  vol.  ii.,  p.  219;  also  see 
Wiseman's  Lectures  on  Science  and  Revealed  Religion; 
new  edition,  1866,  lecture  third.) 

Cardinal  Wiseman,  in  his  lectures  on  Science  and 
Revealed  Religion,  Lecture  Third,  page  135,  refers  to  the 
statement  of  a  recent  traveler  who  explored  the  Hauran, 
or  district  beyond  the  Jordan,  wherein  he  speaks  of  a 
family  residing  at  Abu-el-Beady,  in  charge  of  the  sanc- 
tuary, as  being  remarkable  for  having  negro  features,  a 
deep  black  color  and  crisped  hair;  the  male  and  female 
progenitors  of  whom  were  of  pure  Arabian  blood,  both  of 
the  past  and  present  generations.  He  further  says  that 
the  Arabs  who  inhabit  the  valle\r  of  the  Jordan  have 
flatter  features,  darker  skins  and  coarser  hair  than  any 
other  tribes.  Our  own  countryman,  Dr.  Draper,  in  a 
work  written  by  him  on  physiolog3",  argues  at  some 
length  and  with  much  earnestness,  and  not  a  little  show 
of  reasonableness  to  our  mind,  that  not  only  may  changes 
be  produced  in  the  size  and  form  of  the  features,  and 
color  and  feeling  of  the  skin  by  climatic  conditions,  but 
he  goes  so  far  as  to  assert  that  domestic  and  social  differ- 
ences, when  no  change  of  climate  takes  place,  often 
produce  marked  differences  of  a  physical  and  moral 
nature. 

We  are  constrained  to  admit,  then,  that  the  great 
change  from  an  invigorating,  temperate  climate  on  the 


153 

part  of  these  people,  to  a  warm  and  sluggish  one,  has 
had  its  effect  in  transforming  them  from  men  of  energy 
and  ambitious  aims  to  the  inanimate  specimens  of 
humanit}'  that  we  find  them  now.  The  prevalence  of 
bilious  and  malarial  fevers,  accompanied  with  agues, 
throughout  the  greater  portion  of  the  South,  caused  in 
part  by  the  too  rapid  generation  of  the  bile  in  the  sys 
tern,  and,  to  a  greater  extent,  by  miasma  escaping  from 
the  swamp  lands  referred  to  in  another  portion  of  this 
volume,  has  a  very  enervating  effect,  and  the  man  who 
has  the  moral  courage  or  physical  endurance  to  raise 
himself  up  from  beneath  the  weight  of  inertia  which 
presses  so  heavily  upon  all  in  that  climate,  is  indeed  a 
hero  in  the  true  signification  of  the  term. 

But  we  are  asked,  "  Why  is  not  the  force  of  this  iner- 
tia perceptible  in  the  cases  of  the  wealthy  white  and 
colored  people  of  the  South?"  To  this  question  we 
reply,  the  wealthy  whites  are  enervated,  and  were  it 
not  that  they  are  able,  by  means  of  their  wealth,  to  sur- 
round themselves  with  the  aids  and  luxuries  of  life,  and 
make  frequent  journeys  to  higher  latitudes  and  more 
healtlr^  sections  of  the  country,  they  would  rapidly  sink 
to  a  level  with  the  class  referred  to.  And  as  for  the  col- 
ored population,  they  are  differently  constituted  from 
the  white  people  and  better  adapted  to  that  climate.  I 
infer  the  latter  statement  from  the  fact  that  the  colored 
people  are  not  subject,  to  an  equal  degree,  to  some  of  the 


154 

malarial  diseases  pievalent  there,  which,  in  times  past, 
have  proved  fatal  to  so  many  thousands  of  the  fair  race. 

The  unproductiveness  of  the  soil  in  some  of  the  flat 
and  sandy  parts,  especially  in  the  Carolinas,  is  another 
cause  tending  to  discourage  and  demoralize  the  "  poor 
whites  "  of  the  South.  There  are  sections  where  it  would 
require  the  undivided  time  and  attention  of  an  expert 
farmer  to   eke    out  the   most   ordinary   subsistence,  of 

which county,  South  Carolina,  is  a  fair  example. 

Where  swamps  do  not  prevail  in  that  forsaken  county, 
sands  predominate;  and  the  wonder  is,  not  that  the 
people  residing  there  are  dejected  and  poor,  but  that  they 
exist  at  all. 

The  appearance  of  one  of  these  farmers  on  his  arrival 
upon  the  "  market"  with  a  load  of  wood,  is  unique  and 
amusing  in  the  extreme,  and  many  anecdotes  of  an 
interesting  nature  are  related  at  their  expense.  Imagine 
two  wheels,  about  four  feet  in  diameter,  with  two  poles 
attached  longitudinally  to  the  axle,  holes  bored  in  the 
poles  from  the  rear  ends  to  a  point  even  with  the  circum- 
ference of  the  wheels,  in  which  upright  stakes  are  driven; 
then  glance  at  the  little  scrawny  steer  between  these 
poles,  with  bits  of  leather,  some  rope  and  more  cloth 
strings  for  harness,  and  the  arm  full  of  wood  constitut- 
ing the  load,  together  with  the  little  brown  jug,  and 
yellow  cur  attached  to  the  vehicle  underneath,  and 
nothing  further,  save  the  long,  lank,  hairy  creature,  with 


155 

butternut    clothes    and    a   cracked   voice,    exclaiming, 
"  Whoa!"  will  be  required  to  complete  the  picture. 

It  is  said  that  upon  a  time,  a  gentleman  traveling 
through  county  met  one  of  these  cadaverous- 
looking  specimens  proceeding  slowl}*  along  the  road  with 
a  rather  suspicious-looking  load,  when  the  following 
colloquy  ensued:  Gentleman — "Where  are  you  from?" 
Countryman  —  "  O-r-i."  "  Gentleman  —  "  What's  your 
load?"''  Countryman — "Timber  an'  fruit."  Gentleman 
— "  What's  your  timber?"  Countryman — "  Hoop-poles." 
Gentleman — "What's  your  fruit?"  Countryman—  "Per- 
simmons." 

Another  anecdote  is  related  of  the  people  of  this 
county,  for  the  truthfulness  of  which  the  writer  is  not 
willing  to  vouch.  It  is  to  the  effect  that,  while  proceed- 
ing on  his  way  after  leaving  the  countryman  just  referred 
to,  he  encountered  still  another  man  standing  beneath  a 
persimmon  tree,  holding  in  his  hands  a  pole  raised  aloft 
with  a  little  pig  attached  to  the  end,  which  was  feasting 
upon  the  persimmons  on  the  tree.  The  gentleman 
approached  the  countryman,  when  the  following  conver- 
sation took  place:  Gentleman — "What  are  you  doing 
there?"  Countryman  —  "  Sister  Sal  is  goin'  ter  git 
married  an'  I'm  fattenin'  this  pig  for  the  weddin'." 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing  influences  which  we 
have  mentioned  as  exerting  an  influence  over  these  poor 
people  must  be  remembered  that  which  the  institution 


156 

of  slavery,  and  its  direct  tendency  to  debase  labor,  had 
in  this  respect;  for  it  is  a  fact,  that  cannot  be  gainsayed, 
that  the  baleful  effects  of  that  social  ulcer  made  them- 
selves felt  upon  all  colors  and  classes  of  society;  and, 
while  it  reduced  the  slave  to  the  condition  of  a  mere 
chattel,  it  debased  all  labor  and  cursed  the  very  people 
that  it  was  intended  to  bless.  The  poor  white  man 
shunned  labor  because  it  was  considered  as  the  province 
of  the  slave  to  toil;  and  to  have  condescended  to  till  the 
soil  or  wield  the  sledge  hammer  would  have  subjected 
him  to  the  same  imbecile  scorn  and  proscription  that 
the  slave  was  made  to  feel.  The  ladies  of  the  slave- 
holding  order  reclined  at  ease,  not  even  exerting  them- 
selves, in  some  instances,  to  dress  themselves;  and  when 
the}7  went  to  promenade,  or  into  the  flower  garden,  they 
wore  sun  bonnets  and  long  gauntlets  to  protect  their  fair 
complexions.  Hence  the  ladies  of  the  poor  class,  who 
aspired  to  be  like  them,  refrained  as  much  as  possible 
from  coming  in  contact  with  anything  calculated  to  soil 
the  hands  or  bronze  the  complexion.  And  in  this  way 
the  impression  gained  among  these  people  that  no  one 
could  be  a  gentleman  or  a  lad}r  and  at  the  same  time 
"  work  like  a  nigger."  The  result  was  seen  in  their  lean 
bodies,  impoverished  condition  and  mental  imbecility. 

In  addition  to  all  that  has  been  written,  it  remains  to 
be  said  that  to  the  failure  of  the  wealthy  white  people 
of  the  South  to  provide  educational  facilities  for  these 


157 

poor  people,  much  of  their  present  degradation  must  be 
attributed.  It  was  no  uncommon  thing  to  find  commu- 
nities in  the  South  where  the  fact  of  a  man  being  able  to 
read  and  write  gave  him  a  prominent  position  among 
these  people,  and  even  surrounded  him  with  such  an  air 
of  superiority  as  made  him  a  kind  of  petty  sovereign  in 
their  midst,  so  great  was  their  deficiency  in  this  respect. 
As  a  means  of  obtaining  a  livelihood  they  sought  posi- 
tions which  gave  them  a  little  authority  over  the  enslaved 
colored  people,  such  as  policemen  in  cities,  patrols  in 
the  country,  and  overseers  on  plantations.  In  these 
positions  they  were  noted  for  their  acts  of  cruelty  and 
oppression  toward  the  colored  people,  and  it  frequently 
became  necessary  for  the  outraged  slave  to  seek  the 
intervention  of  his  master  to  protect  him  from  their 
fur}-.  The  colored  people  of  the  South,  both  free  and 
slave,  heartily  detested  these  "  poor  bucras,"  as  they 
called  them;  their  hatred  going  to  such  an  extent  that 
they  could  not  endure  anything  owned  by  them,  even 
the  slaves  who  sometimes  were  so  unfortunate  as  to  fall 
into  the  hands  of  one  of  them  who  had  "made  a  start1' 
in  life,  coming  in  for  a  share  of  their  contempt.  Such 
as  had  no  definite  means  of  support  resorted  to  such 
methods  of  making  a  living  as  would  hardly  answer  the 
purpose  in  any  other  section  in  the  United  States.  In 
fact  the  very  lavishness  of  nature  in  some  respects 
seemed  to  lend  to  their  dissolute  habits,     Some  of  them 


158 

who  had  succeeded  in  acquiring  possession  of  an  old 
shot-gun  would  scour  the  forests  in  quest  of  game,  and 
generally  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  racoon,  a  squirrel  or 
rabbit,  which  would  bring  good  cheer  to  the  family  for 
several  days.  Others  would  fish  in  the  ponds  and 
streams  abounding  there,  and  find  in  the  finny  tribe 
their  surest  means  of  support;  while  still  others  would 
cultivate  a  little  garden  spot,  well  stocked  with  collards, 
raise  a  pig,  which  had  a  head  as  long  as  the  remain- 
der of  the  body,  and  also  keep  a  few  chickens,  that 
subsisted  on  the  dunghill.  Beriying  time  was  a  great 
season  among  them,  when  they  could  be  seen  in  crowds 
going  to  the  fields  and  woods  to  pick  berries — black- 
berries and  whortleberries — from  the  proceeds  of  which 
they  generally  succeeded  in  realizing  a  sufficient  sum  of 
money  to  buy  a  little  clothing.  The  writer,  during  his 
stay  in  the  South,  was  acquainted  with  a  poor  fellow, 
crippled  as  to  one  foot,  who  during  the  fall  and  winter 
seasons  had  to  be  assisted  by  the  authorities,  but  who 
during  the  berrying  season  was  so  elated  and  independ- 
ent over  his  successes  that  he  would  scarcely  recognize 
a  colored  man  upon  the  streets.  It  mattered  not,  how- 
ever, how  poor  they  were,  even  though  the  wolf  stuck  at 
their  very  doors,  they  each  and  every  one  managed  to 
keep  by  them  a  cur  dog  to  share  with  them  their  joys 
and  sorrows;  which  sometimes  became  so  greatly 
reduced  by  hunger  that  the   hens'  nests  in  the  neigh- 


159 

borhood   were   robbed  of  their  eggs,  and    other   depre- 
dations of  even  a  more  serious  nature  committed. 

Among  the  peculiar  habits  of  these  people  may  be 
mentioned  those  of  clay  eating,  rubbing  snuff  and  chew- 
ing tobacco  by  the  women,  and  of  drinking  whiskey  by 
both  classes.  As  to  clay  eating,  I  cannot  account  for 
the  origin  and  prevalence  of  the  habit,  unless  it  be  that 
owing  to  their  peculiar  diet  an  unusual  amount  of  acidity 
is  produced  in  the  stomach,  by  reason  of  which  a  certain 
craving  is  caused  for  something  to  neutralize  its  effect, 
upon  the  same  principle  that  we  eat  magnesia  for 
dyspepsia;  or  it  may  be  that  their  stomachs  need  a 
foreign  substance  to  assist  their  digestive  powers,  on  the 
same  principle  that  a  chicken  takes  gravel  into  its  crop; 
or,  perhaps,  the  cravings  of  hunger  suggest  it. 

As  to  the  force  of  these  suggestions  I  leave  the  reader 
to  judge  for  himself,  as  the  writer  lays  no  claim  to  being 
an  expert  in  dirt-eating.  It  is  nevertheless  true  that 
vast  quantities  of  red,  white  and  blue  clay  are  eaten  by 
the  poor  whites  of  the  South,  of  ail  ages,  but  principally 
by  the  young.  The  writer  has  seen  children  sitting  on 
an  old-fashioned  hearth  before  a  large  fireplace,  pick- 
ing out  the  clay  or  mortar  between  the  bricks  and 
eating  it. 

The  snuff-rubbing  propensity  is  indulged  by  the 
women.  They  purchase  the  strongest  Scotch  snuff 
within  their  reach,  and  with  a  stick  chewed  at  one  end, 


160 

dip  it  out  of  a  tin  box  and  eat  it,  or  rub  it,  as  it  is  called, 
the  idea  being  that  of  rubbing  or  cleaning  the  teeth  with 
it,  which  is  only  another  name  for  eating  it.  They  pre- 
fer a  stick  about  ten  inches  in  length,  from  a  birch  or 
black-jack  tree,  whose  fibres  are  fine  and  tough,  capable 
of  being  chewed  into  a  little,  brush  at  one  end,  and  with 
these  sticking  out  of  their  mouths,  the}^  will  gad  the 
streets  and  gossip  by  the  hour. 

The  men  will  have  their  whiskey,  and  rather  than  be 
deprived  of  it,  they  scour  the  country  in  search  of 
it,  and  part  with  everything  except  their  dog  and  gun  in 
exchange  for  it;  the  pipe  and  plug  tobacco  are  necessary 
accessories,  of  course. 

No  adequate  conception  can  be  formed  by  a  stranger 
to  their  condition,  of  the  vast  gulf  that  separates  this 
class  of  people  from  their  wealthy  brethren,  and  to 
observe  the  scorn  and  disdain  visited  upon  them  by  the 
rich,  one  not  informed  with  regard  to  all  the  circum- 
stances would  mistake  them  for  a  species  of  serfs,  rather 
than  American  citizens  of  "pure  white  blood,"  clothed 
in  all  their  constitutional  rights.  For  this  reason  any 
effort  on  the  part  of  one  of  them  to  arise  from  his  humil- 
iated station  of  life  and  assert  his  manhood  is  attended 
with  such  embarrassments  and  obstacles  at  every  step  as 
would  dishearten  any  but  the  most  determined. 

Then  the  avenues  leading  to  wealth  and  preferment 
are  difficult  of  access,  especially  to  a  boy  or  man  whose 


161 

education  has  been  neglected  from  his  birth.  His  first 
move  towards  bettering  his  condition  was  generally  to 
get  a  small  piece  of  land,  an  undertaking  attended  with 
peculiar  hardships  to  him,  because  in  that  section  of  the 
South  most  of  the  land  that  was  of  any  value  was 
owned  in  large  tracts  by  men  of  wealth,  who  often  exact- 
ed the  last  farthing  before  they  would  part  with  it;  and 
then,  being  ignorant,  the  poor  white,  like  his  freedman 
brother,  was  at  the  mercy  of  the  crafty  vendor,  who  fre- 
quently defrauded  him  of  his  hard-earned  means  and 
left  him  in  a  worse  condition  than  at  first.  However, 
having  obtained  a  small  piece  of  land,  his  next  move  was 
to  get  a  substantial  house,  which  he  did  by  reducing  the 
allowance  of  food  and  other  essentials  at  home.  It  was 
a  hard  lot,  but  necessity,  stern  and  unyielding,  demanded 
the  sacrifice  and  it  had  to  be  made,  or  else  an  entire  life 
of  want  and  disgrace  stared  him  in  the  face.  Having 
once  obtained  a  piece  of  land  and  a  house,  his  ambition 
generally  led  him  to  aspire  to  the  possession  of  a  slave; 
if  this  point  could  be  attained,  then  indeed  would  his 
success  in  his  undertaking  be  assured.  For  several 
years,  however,  he  contented  himself  with  hiring  a  man 
to  assist  him,  whom  he  generally  managed  to  make  earn 
all  that  was  paid  for  him,  until  his  fund  being  increased 
by  the  sale  of  a  few  bales  of  cotton  each  year,  he  reached 
the  goal  of  his  ambition,  made  the  bold  venture  and  pur- 
chased him,  generally  a  woman  or  old  man,  but  a  slave 


162 

none  the  less.     He  then  bore  a  very  close  relation  to  the 
man  of  whom  it  is  said : 

"  He  had  one  male  attendant,  thin  and  lean, 

Like  Romeo's  Mantuan  apothecary; 
Who  daily  swept  his  dusty  office  clean, 

And  summed  up  his  accounts  with  caution  wary ; 
In  short,  was  this  factotum  every  way 
Burdened  with  labor  and  but  little  pay." 

He  then  began  to  put  on  airs.  At  times  he  would  say : 
"  Boy,  look  at  me!  I'm  your  master!"  At  others,  meeting 
some  of  his  former  companions  on  the  road,  his  attention 
would  be  absorbed  in  considering  something  in  another 
direction.  But  the  greater  portion  of  his  time  would  be 
spent  in  aping  the  manners  and  style  of  his  wealthy 
neighbors,  and  trying  to  gain  from  them  one  smile  of 
recognition.  He  would  hire  a  pew  in  church  and  have 
his  family  attend  regularly,  with  the  vain  hope  that 
those  aristocratic  grandees  would  deign  to  notice  them; 
but,  alas,  how  often  were,  their  hearts  made  to  bleed 
within  them  by  reason  of  the  cold,  heartless  treat- 
ment they  received.  Nothing  daunted,  however,  if  he 
were  composed  of  the  proper  material,  he  persevered,  and 
continued  to  add  to  his  landed  possessions  and  increase 
the  number  of  his  slaves,  until  finally  success  attended 
his  efforts  and  he  found  himself  a  wealthy  man  in  full 
fellowship  with  his  neighbors,  disdaining  to  associate 
with  the  "poor  white  trash  "  from  whom  he  sprung. 


163 

Some  very  illustrious  men,  whose  names  have  graced 
the  highest  positions  within  the  gift  of  the  people,  have 
sprung  from  that  unfortunate  class  of  people.  Abraham 
Lincoln  was  a  poor  white  of  the  South;  but  his  parents 
had  the  good  sense  and  moral  courage  to  leave  Kentucky 
and  go  to  the  great  Northwest;  had  they  not,  in  all  prob- 
ability a  bright  intellect  and  great  soul  would  have  been 
buried  in  obscurity.  Andrew  Johnson  was  one  of  these 
poor  whites,  uneducated  up  to  manhood,  but  by  some 
fortuitous  circumstances  he  gained  political  preferment 
and  lived  to  be  President  of  the  United  States.  Henry 
Clay  was  a  poor  mill  boy  of  the  South,  but  ascended  to 
a  senatorial  position,  where  he  won  undj-ing  fame. 
Besides  these,  many  others  could  be  mentioned  who 
conquered  all  opposition  and  fought  their  way  to 
wealth  and  honor,  thereby  proving  to  every  one  that  is 
oppressed  and  degraded  by  caste  and  poverty,  "  Where 
there  is  a  will  there  is  a  way.*1 


CHAPTEE  XII. 


Products  of  the  Carolinas. — Cotton. — Turpentine. — Peanuts. — 
Sweet  Potatoes,  etc. — Forest  Fruits. — "  Chincapins." — Hickory- 
nuts. — Persimmons. — Grape  Culture. — Fishes,  Oysters,  etc. 


As  in  commercial  and  social  pursuits  the  South  is 
more  than  two  generations  behind  the  other  sections  of 
the  United  States,  so  in  respect  to  her  agricultural  tools 
and  modes  of  procedure  she  is,  as  compared  with  them, 
in  a  state  of  darkness  such  as  carries  the  mind  far  back 
into  the  era  of  the  wooden  plow,  and  other  instruments 
of  medieval  farming. 

The  people  cultivating  the  soil  throughout  the  region 
spoken  of  by  us  do  not  seem  to  appreciate  the  value  of 
land,  judging  from  the  immense  waste  that  is  permitted 
in  this  respect,  and  the  lack  of  interest  displayed  by 
them  in  improving  what  they  have  under  cultivation,  or 
in  appropriating  to  their  use  the  hidden  treasures  con- 
tained therein;  for  instead  of  keeping  down  the  rank 
weeds  that  are  apt  to  grow  around  the  margin  and  in 
the  corners  of  their  fields,  and  plowing  deep  into  the 
soil  in  order  to  turn  up  the  treasures  in  the  shape  of 
rich  loam,  they  content  themselves  with  skimming  upon 
the   surface,  merely  breaking   the   crust,  and   gleaning 


165 

therefrom  half  a  crop  instead  of  a  bounteous  harvest. 
Why  the  husbandmen  there  persist  in  this  unprofitable 
mode  of  agriculture  is  difficult  to  be  determined,  unless  it 
arises  from  the  force  of  habit,  being  one  of  the  rich 
legacies  bequeathed  to  the  South  by  the  institution  of 
slavery,  which  she  has  not  as  yet  been  able  to  dispose 
of. 

The  foregoing  remarks  do  not  apply,  however,  so 
much  to  the  production  of  the  cotton  plant  as  to  cereals 
and  other  species  of  produce,  since,  cotton  being  their 
staple  product,  upon  which  all  their  hopes,  ambitions 
and  means  of  support  are  based,  they  have  brought  into 
requisition  in  the  cultivation  of  it  more  than  ordinary 
skill  and  energj-;  and,  besides,  the  cotton  plant  does  not 
require  the  same  amount  or  quality  of  cultivation  that 
is  demanded  by  other  products. 

The  cotton  yield  of  the  Southern  States  at  the 
present  time  is  enormous,  and  it  odIv  requires  a  glance 
at  a  few  figures  for  one  to  appreciate  the  fact  that  under 
any  economical  and  liberal  policy  on  the  part  of  the 
South  it  could  be  made  a  source  of  great  wealth  to  that 
section,  and,  as  king  of  commerce,  caused  to  demand 
the  homage  of  the  civilized  nations  of  the  earth. 
It  is  estimated  b}r  competent  judges  that  the  yield  for 
the  pa'St  season  was  not  far  from  the  gross  amount  of 
five  millions  of  bales,  which  at  a  fair  valuation  of  fifty 
dollars  a  bale  would    reach  the  enormous  sum  of  two 


166 

hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  dollars — an  amount  which 
in  ten  years  time  would  be  sufficient  to  have  paid  off  the 
whole  national  debt,  incurred  by  reason  of  the  Southern 
Rebellion. 

Cotton  was  not  originally  the  staple  article  of  the 
South,  for  its  cultivation  and  preparation  for  the  spindle 
and  loom  was  fraught  with  so  much  expense  as  to  pre- 
clude the  idea  of  making  it  an  article  of  much  profit  to 
the  planter.  The  territory  comprised  in  the  original 
thirteen  States  suitable  for  its  cultivation  was  meagre, 
comparatively  speaking,  and  the  modern  appliances  for 
separating  the  seeds  from  the  fibre  not  having  been 
invented,  the  operation  had  to  be  performed  by  hand, 
which  was  both  slow  and  expensive.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  it  occupied 
a  place  secondary  to  other  products  which  have  since 
given  place  to  its  culture.  But  the  invention  of  the 
cotton-gin  by  Whitney,  and  the  spinning-jenny  by 
Hargreaves;  the  application  of  steam  to  the  operation 
of  machinery  by  Watt,  and  the  cession  to  the  United 
States  of  the  Florida  territory,  together  with  the  acqui- 
sition of  all  that  vast  extent  of  land  known  as  the 
Louisiana  purchase,  and  the  Texas  territory,  the  fruit  of 
the  Mexican  war,  made  the  production  of  cotton  not 
only  easy  but  profitable,  and  at  once  gave  it  a  prominence 
in  the  commercial  world  that  time  has  only  tended  to 
increase. 


167 

The  process  of  its  cultivation  as  followed  by  the 
Southern  planter  is  very  eas}*,  and  entails  no  consider- 
able expense;  any  one  having  a  few  acres  of  land  and  a 
sufficient  amount  of  money  to  purchase  a  small  shovel- 
plow  and  a  few  bags  of  guano  for  manure,  being  compe- 
tent to  engage  in  it,  provided  he  possesses  the  physical 
ability  to  handle  a  hoe  about  ten  inches  in  width.  Of 
course  it  is  always  better  to  possess  a  horse,  mule, 
steer,  or  beast  of  some  kind  to  draw  the  plow  and  assist 
in  the  ordinary  routine  work,  but  I  have  known  several 
instances  where  determined  men  of  great  muscular  abil- 
ity and  powers  of  endurance  have  succeeded  in  raising  a 
small  crop  without  anything  of  the  kind  mentioned, 
beyond  the  hiring  of  an  animal  for  a  few  days  to  do  the 
original  breaking  of  the  ground.  In  several  instances 
the  writer  has  seen  freedmen  harnessed  to  the  little  plow, 
breaking  the  soil  between  the  rows  after  the  plants  had 
gained  a  few  weeks'  growth.  The  ground  being  broken 
and  the  shallow  drills  being  formed,  the  next  step 
towards  raising  a  crop  of  cotton  is  to  scatter  a  little 
guano  along  them,  a  thing  which  none  but  the  very 
poorest  class  of  planters  will  fail  to  do  unless  their  land 
is  phenomenal  for  richness,  in  the  localities  referred  to. 
This  is  done  by  the  plantation  hands,  who  for  that  pur- 
pose don  a  suit  made  of  bagging,  or  some  other  very 
cheap  material,  and  cover  their  heads,  since  the  dust 
escaping  from  this  greatly  esteemed  fertilizer  possesses 


168 

a  most  nauseating,  pungent  odor,  and  can  be  smelt  at 
remote  distances  from  where  it  is  stored  when  the  wind 
is  favorable  or  unfavorable  therefor.  The  guano  is 
carried  in  a  haversack,  hung  around  the  neck,  and  dis- 
tributed through  long  trumpet-shaped  tin  tubes,  held  in 
one  hand  of  the  planter,  who  grabs  it  out  of  the  bag 
with  the  other.  The  greatest  economy  is  practised  in 
the  use  of  guano,  for  its  cost  is  considerable  and  its 
virtues  are  great,  a  teaspoonful  of  it  being  a  liberal 
allowance  for  a  hill  of  corn,  and  a  slight  sprinkling  of 
the  dust  along  a  drill — just  enough  to  be  seen — sufficing 
for  cotton.  Should  too  much  be  used  there  would  be 
great  danger  of  losing  the  crop  from  an  excess  of  heat 
caused  thereby,  unless  the  season  were  a  wet  one. 

Cotton  seed  is  also  considered  a  most  excellent  fertil- 
izer, standing  in  this  respect  next  to  guano;  hence  they 
are  treasured  up  and  highly  prized  by  those  who  possess 
them.  Following  the  act  of  scattering  the  fertilizer  comes 
that  of  sowing  the  seed  (for  the  seed  is  literally  sowed, 
not  planted  in  Kills  as  corn  and  sweet  potatoes  are),  and 
when  the}^  are  up  and  about  an  inch  in  height,  the  pro 
cess  of  "chopping  out"  begins,  which  consists  in  chop- 
ping out  with  a  broad  hoe  the  growing  plants,  so  as  to 
leave  spaces  between  them  of  from  ten  to  twelve  inches, 
according  to  the  strength  of  the  soil  and  the  judgment  of 
the  planter.  When  this  act  is  performed  nothing  more 
remains  to  be  done  except  to  keep  the  plants  free  from 


169 

weeds  until  they  are  large  and  strong  enough  to  over- 
power them,  when  they  are  supported  by  having  earth 
drawn  up  to  them  so  as  to  form  a  little  hill,  which  is 
called  "  laying  by." 

The  planter  then  takes  a  rest,  sees  that  his  gin  and 
press  are  in  good  condition,  attends  camp-meetings,  pic- 
nics and  political  demonstrations,  where  he  fraternizes 
with  his  neighbors  over  the  jovial  "  watermillion" 

The  plant  bears  beautiful  pink  blossoms,  which  give 
place  to  the  boll  containing  the  cotton.  To  appreciate 
the  appearance  of  a  cotton  field  filled  with  plants,  the 
bursting  bolls  of  which  invite  the  agile  pickers,  one 
must  be  present  upon  the  spot.  The  scene  may  be  com- 
pared, but  not  fairly  described,  and  even  the  imagination 
of  the  most  poetic  mind  must  fail  to  do  it  justice. 

After  picking,  the  cotton  is  ginned,  a  process  by 
means  of  which  the  seeds  are  separated  from  the  fibre 
without  injury  to  it.  Pressing  and  baling  complete  the 
process,  and  it  is  then  ready  to  be  sent  to  the  North  or 
the  continent  of  Europe,  to  be  manufactured  into  fabrics, 
which  the  South  repurchases  at  a  greatly  enhanced  value 
to  clothe  her  people  with. 

Another  article  of  commerce  produced  in  the  Caro- 
linas  is  turpentine,  and,  in  fact,  in  some  sections  of  those 
states  it  almost  monopolizes  the  attention  of  a  large 
portion  of  the  inhabitants,  and  furnishes  the  principal 
means  of  support. 


170 

Turpentine  is,  as  our  readers  are  aware,  the  product 
of  the  pine  tree,  of  which  there  are  large  forests  in  both 
North  and  South  Carolina.  In  fact,  the  pine  tree  is  to 
the  states  in  which  it  abounds  to  any  considerable 
extent,  indirectly  what  the  palm  tree  is  to  some  oriental 
peoples — food,  clothing,  bedding,  dwellings  and  firewood. 
It  furnishes  food  and  clothing  through  the  revenue 
derived  from  the  sale  of  turpentine;  bedding  from  the 
pine  "  straw  "  which  it  annually  casts  off;  lumber  from 
which  the  houses  are  built  from  the  bodies,  and  firewood 
from  its  small  limbs  and  crooked  stems. 

The  process  by  which  the  turpentine  is  obtained 
from  the  tree  is  unique  and  of  interest.  Converging 
grooves  are  cut  on  the  surface  of  each  tree  by  an  instru- 
ment shaped  for  that  purpose,  generally  on  the  side 
facing  in  the  direction  of  the  sun.  At  first  only  a  few  of 
these  grooves  are  cut,  in  order  that  there  may  be  no 
waste  of  the  flowing  turpentine  and  that  the  trees  may 
not  suffer  materially  and  lose  all  their  vitality  during  a 
single  season ;  by  observing  this  course,  a  good,  healthy 
tree  can  be  made  to  do  service  for  many  years,  until  it  is 
skinned  and  scraped  almost  to  the  limbs.  Beneath  these 
converging  grooves  is  cut  a  "  box,"  which  is  nothing 
more  than  a  small,  pocket-shaped  opening  cut  into  the 
body  of  the  tree  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  the  flowing 
turpentine,  something  after  the  principle  that  is  followed 
in  making  maple  sugar,  except,  in  the  latter  case,  we 


171 

believe,  a  bole  is  bored  in  the  tree  and  a  tube  inserted, 
instead  of  grooving  the  surface  and  cutting  a  box.  The 
action  of  the  sun  upon  the  exposed  surface  causes  the 
turpentine  to  flow  and  fill  the  box,  which  is  then  dipped 
and  put  into  barrels.  The  portion  dipped  from  the 
boxes  in  an  unadulterated  state  is  "  virgin  pure,"  and 
much  more  desirable  in  the  market  than  the  "scrapings," 
which  are  filled  with  small  chips  and  pine  straw,  and 
thereby  depreciated  in  value. 

The  turpentine  is  then  placed  into  a  still  for  distilla- 
tion, which  is  done  by  heating  it  to  a  suitable  tempera- 
ture. During  this  process  the  vapors  arising  from  the 
contents  of  the  still  are  passed  through  a  submerged 
"worm,"  and  collected  in  a  vessel  containing  water,  from 
which  it  is  drained;  this  constitutes  the  spirits  of  tur- 
pentine. The  chips  and  straw  floating  upon  the  molten 
turpentine  is  then  skimmed  off  with  a  strainer  and 
thrown  into  a  pool  of  water,  around  which,  in  the 
writer's  boyhood,  a  small  army  of  urchins  generally 
stood,  with  little  black  trays  under  their  arms  or  upon 
their  heads,  awaiting  their  "  turn  "  of  "  dross,"  as  the 
refuse  matter  was  designated. 

This  dross,  when  ignited,  burns  with  a  fierce  and 
ardent  glow,  and  is  the  means  of  protecting  many  a  poor 
family  in  the  South  from  the  rigors  of  a  harsh  winter 
season,  such  as  frequently  is  known  in   the  Carolinas, 


172 

when  ice  is  formed  of  sufficient  thickness  to  support  the 
weight  of  a  man. 

Another  product  of  these  interesting  States  is  their 
peanuts.  Let  Egypt  assert  her  antiquity,  as  exhibited 
in  her  pyramids,  obelisks,  sphinxes,  monster  ruins  and 
mummies;  Greece  may  boast  of  her  Parthenons  and 
treasures  of  art;  Rome  display  her  Coliseum,  great 
cathedral  and  carved  pillars — Carolina  still  rejoices  in 
being  the  chief  source  of  the  "festive  peanut."  These 
nuts  are  known  in  the  parts  where  they  are  produced  by 
the  various  euphonious  names  of  ground-peas,  pea-nuts, 
ground-nuts,  pinders  and  gubers.  They  grow  on  the 
ground  (not  on  trees,  as  some  suppose,)  and  are  attached 
to  a  running  vine,  which  bears  a  small  blossom  of  a  deep 
j^ellow  color,  about  the  size  of  an  ordinaiy  English  pea- 
blossom.  When  dug  they  hang  in  great  clusters,  closely 
connected  with  the  roots  of  the  plant,  from  which  they 
are  gathered  and  spread  in  the  sun  to  dry;  after  which 
they  are  put  in  bags,  when  they  are  ready  for  the  market. 
The  parching  or  roasting  process  is  done  in  various 
ways,  some  being  done  in  great  ovens,  where  large  quan- 
tities are  handled  at  one  roasting;  while  others  are 
roasted  by  peanut  vendors,  who  stand  on  the  corners 
and  at  the  intersection  of  streets,  to  the  great  delight  of 
the  small  boy  and  the  embarrassed  lover.  What  this 
country  would  do  without  the  peanut  it  startles  us  to 
imagine,    since   the   advent  of  a   circus,  county  fair  or 


173 

Fourth  of  July  celebration  without  the  presence  of  the 
peanut  would  be  a  "barren  ideality." 

Sweet  potatoes  also  come  in  for  their  share  of  pat- 
ronage in  the  Carolinas.  Not  "  Jersey  Sweets,"  nor 
such  as  are  raised  in  the  North,  but  real  sweet  potatoes, 
as  the  Spanish,  the  Bermuda  and  the  vara  potatoes 
— such  potatoes  as,  when  subjected  to  the  heat  of  a 
hot  oven,  crack  open  and  permit  some  of  the  liquid 
hone}'  to  escape  from  them,  while  the  hungry  little  ones, 
who  sit  by,  scarcely  repress  the  flow  of  saliva  until  their 
anxiety  for  one  can  be  relieved.  And  such  large  pota- 
toes! Why,  the  writer  has  seen  sweet  potatoes  in  the 
"Old  North  State"  as  large  as  an  ordinary  infant's 
head,  weighing  several  pounds  each.  The}' are  raised  in 
great  abundance,  and  stand  in  the  same  relation  to  the 
poor  people  down  there  that  the  Irish  potato  does  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Emerald  Isle. 

Indian  corn  is  also  cultivated,  but  almost  exclusively 
for  domestic  use.  The  white  variety  is  preferred,  which 
is  ground  into  meal  and  used  with  a  little  salt  and  water 
for  making  bread;  flour  bread  among  the  poorer  classes 
being  considered  a  luxury.  At  times,  especially  in 
"  hog-killing  time,"  the  character  of  the  corn  bread  is 
varied  by  putting  into  the  dough  "  cracklings,"  which 
are  the  browned  portions  of  meat  out  of  which  the  lard 
has  been  tried.  This  "crackling  bread"  is  considered 
by  some  of  these  poor  people  a  great  delicacy,  of  which 


174 

they  are  very  fond.  At  other  times  they  put  apples, 
chopped  fine,  into  the  dough,  and  treat  the  boarders  to 
"  apple  bread,"  thus  in  various  and  sundry  simple 
modes  varying  their  scanty  supplies. 

With  proper  attention  and  experience  the  Carolinas 
could  be  made  the  seat  of  extensive  and  profitable  grape 
culture,  of  which  there  are  several  very  fine  varieties. 
The  Scuppernong  grows,  even  in  its  wild  state,  to  a  pro- 
digious size,  as  large,  in  some  instances,  as  crab  apples, 
and  possesses  a  flavor  which  for  delicacy  is  difficult  to 
be  surpassed.  The  people  there,  however,  do  not  seem 
to  appreciate  the  value  of  their  rich  possession  in  this 
vine,  and,  with  a  few  exceptions,  it  is  neglected  and 
allowed  to  run  to  waste;  just  as  many  other  of  their 
most  valuable  natural  resources  of  wealth  and  happi- 
ness are. 

It  would  not  be  the  part  of  justice  to  close  this 
chapter  without  saying  a  word  about  the  rivers,  abound- 
ing in  their  wealth  of  fishes,  oysters,  clams  and  crabs, 
especially  near  the  coast  of  the  Atlantic. 

About  the  time  that  the  free  colored  people  of  the 
State  of  North  Carolina  were  seized  with  a  desire  of 
leaving  that  portion  of  the  country  and  casting  their 
lot  in  the  free  North,  because  of  the  proscriptions  and 
constant  menaces  that  afflicted  them  in  their  native 
State,  the  writer's  father  was  asked  whether  he  would 
not  accompany  some  emigrants  to  the  new  home  in  the 


175 

Northwest.  He  answered  them  by  saying,  "  When  you 
can  transfer  the  Neuse  and  Trent  rivers,  with  their  con- 
tents, to  Ohio,  I  will  go  with  you;  not  before." 

The  fishes  to  be  found  in  these  rivers  consist  in  part  of 
shad  (which  is  the  king  of  fish  for  the  breakfast  table), 
the  trout,  perch,  mullet,  drum,  pike,  herring,  sturgeon 
and  many  others  too  numerous  to  be  mentioned  in  a 
paper  of  this  size.  Hard-shell  and  soft  shell  crabs, 
and  lobsters  also  abound,  while  just  be}'ond,  in  the 
sounds,  some  of  the  largest,  fattest  and  most  delicately 
flavored  037sters  and  clams  are  to  be  found  that  the 
waters  upon  the  face  of  the  earth  can  afford.  We  have 
not  attempted  in  the  foregoing  to  give  anything  purport- 
ing to  be  a  detailed  list  of  all  the  products  of  these 
favored  states,  for  their  name  is  legion,  and  would 
require  a  book  exceeding  the  size  of  the  one  now  under 
contemplation  to  contain  even  their  names. 

In  addition  to  those  mentioned,  however,  as  consti- 
tuting a  portion  of  the  staple  articles,  may  be  mentioned 
some  of  the  forest  nuts  and  fruits,  such  as  the  chincapin, 
which  is  a  small  nut  of  the  chestnut  family,  only  smaller, 
sweeter  and  having  the  shape  of  a  top.  The  people  of 
these  states  gather  them  and  boil  or  roast  them,  when, 
in  many  instances,  they  are  strung  on  threads  and  worn 
around  the  necks  of  children,  after  the  manner  of  beads; 
but  like  the  man  who  covered  himself  with  a  large  flap- 


176 

jack  upon  going  to  bed,  the  children  sometimes  dream 
they  are  hungry,  and  eat  their  beads. 

The  hickory  nut  of  North  Carolina,  especially  in 
eastern  and  central  portions,  to  which  my  attention  has 
been  principally  directed,  has  a  thick,  hard  shell  and 
small  kernel,  hence  it  can  bear  no  comparison  to  the 
nutritious  nut  of  the  scaly  bark  variety  to  be  found  in 
the  Northwest.  The  walnut,  however,  flourishes  in 
great  abundance,  and  is  of  a  fine  quality. 

Among  the  fruits  found  growing  in  a  state  of  nature 
may  be  mentioned  the  red  plum,  the  yellow  plum,  the 
cranberry  and  the  persimmon.  The  three  former  are 
not  strangers  to  the  people  of  the  North,  but  the  latter, 
the  persimmon,  is  not  well  known.  When  the  persim- 
mon is  green  its  astringent  qualities  must  be  tested  in 
order  to  be  appreciated,  since  they  set  at  naught  alum 
and  other  such  articles  in  use  among  us ;  but  when  ripe 
and  mellowed  by  the  frost,  they  are  very  sweet  and 
pleasant  to  the  taste.  They  are  of  the  size  of  an  ordi- 
nary plum,  perhaps  a  little  larger,  and  contain  a  kernel 
within  them  of  the  same  size  and  shape  as  the  plum. 
The  good  matron  of  the  South  makes  from  the  persim- 
mon a  kind  of  beer,  which,  when  read}r  for  us,  laughs  to 
scorn  cider,  small  beer  and  lager,  and  is  not  half  so 
injurious  in  its  effects. 

We  are  now  entering  the  suburbs  of  Magnolia,  our 
place  of  destination;  we  see  little  of  interest  to  the  gen- 


177 

eral  reader  to  be  described,  hence  we  will  drive  directly 
to  the  home  of  our  relatives,  and  after  resting  and 
refreshing  ourselves,  acquaint  our  readers  more  minutely 
with  the  colored  people  of  the  South,  and  other  objects 
of  interest. 


TJ 


CHAPTEE  XIII. 


The  Colored  People  of  the  South. — Different  Classes. — The 
Plantation  Hands.- — Their  Habits  and  Modes  of  Life. — Corn- 
shucking  and  Log-rolling  Bees. — Their  Love  of  "'Possum  and 
Sweet-en-tater."— Will  they  Steal?— The  Colored  People  of  the 
Cities  and  Towns. — General  Intelligence  among  them,  and  Causes 
Contributing  Thereto. — Churches  and  Schools  among  them. — 
Efforts  of  Bad  Men  to  Create  Prejudice  between  Different  Classes 
of  them. — Education  and  Wealth  will  Dispel  All. 


Thus  far  in  Hie  course  of  our  narrative  we  have  only- 
spoken  of  the  colored  element  of  the  South  in  a  general 
way,  as  it  was  necessary  or  convenient  to  do  in  order  to 
illustrate  some  of  the  customs  and  habits  of  the  whole 
people  of  that  section ;  but  having  at  length  completed 
our  journey,  and  the  process  of  hand-shaking  and  con- 
gratulations in  general  being  ended,  an  opportunity  is 
now  afforded  of  studying  the  condition  and  habits  of 
these  people  in  a  minuter  way,  since  they  are  to  be  seen 
in  every  Southern  city  in  all  the  various  phases  pre- 
sented by  them — the  residents  at  their  homes  and  places 
of  avocation,  and  the  non-residents  as  they  stroll  in  from 
the  neighboring  plantations  for  the  purposes  of  trade  or 
recreation. 

Taken  as  a  whole,  the  colored  people  of  the  South 


179 

are  a  remarkable  people,  and  in  some  respects,  the  most 
versatile  of  habits  and  disposition  of  an}'  people  with 
which  it  is  the  good  fortune  of  the  writer  to  be 
acquainted.  They  are  pervaded  with  a  certain  fund  of 
good  humor  and  mirthfulness  that  follows  them  from  the 
cradle  to  the  grave,  and  like  the  little  girl  in  an  Eastern 
cit}-  who  was  expelled  from  a  school  because  she  inces- 
santly laughed,  it  seems  to  be  a  physical  impossibility 
for  them  to  repress  their  laughter,  songs,  dancing  and 
merry-making.  Many  of  them  seem  to  never  reach  old 
age,  if  judged  by  their  innocent  ways,  and  we  not  infre- 
quently find  old  "  Aunties"'  and  "Uncles  "  who  are  just 
as  supple  and  playful  as  in  their  youthful  days.  Nor  did 
the  bitter  oppression  incidental  to  the  estate  of  slavery 
change  the  fact,  for  despite  it  all  they  managed  to  snatch 
from  their  limited  hours  of  rest  and  refreshment  time 
sufficient  to  sing  a  song,  dance  a  shuffie  or  crack  a  joke, 
to  the  great  merriment  and  satisfaction  of  all  who  beheld 
them.  Add  to  this  fact  the  disposition  on  their  part  to 
indulge  in  exercises  of  a  religious  character,  interspersed 
with  much  that  was  diverting  to  the  mind,  and  it  is  not 
difficult  to  account  for  the  fact  that,  notwithstanding 
their  ill-treatment  and  debasement  by  their  task-masters, 
they  grew  from  a  handful,  landed  in  this  country  in 
1812,  to  a  vast  multitude  of  nearly  four  millions  of  souls 
at  the  time  when  the  immortal  Emancipation  Proclama- 
tion was  issued  by  the  martyr  Abraham  Lincoln. 


180 

To  travelers  along  the  routes  of  our  great  rivers,  they 
furnished  a  continuous  fund  of  amusement  and  recrea- 
tion, and  they  were  not  only  willing  to  give  liberally  of 
their  means  for  the  purpose  of  eliciting  the  inimitable 
song,  dance  or  gesture,  but  some  even  essayed  to  mimic 
them,  as  the  basis  of  many  an  hour  of  public  divertise- 
ment  in  places  of  amusement  in  distant  lands. 

It  must  not  be  inferred  from  the  foregoing,  however, 
that  these  people  carried  their  innocent  traits  to  such  an 
extent  as  to  deprive  them  of  the  sterling  qualities  of 
man  or  womanhood — far  from  it;  on  the  contrary,  their 
achievements  in  the  mechanics,  agriculture,  literature 
and  upon  the  battle  field,  as  recorded  by  the  historian  of 
to-day,  set  at  defiance  any  such  conclusion  which  may 
have  been  formed  and  entertained  in  the  mind  of  any 
one. 

The  colored  people  of  the  South  may  be  divided  into 
two  general  classes — the  plantation  hands  and  the  in- 
habitants of  commercial  centers.  We  mention  the 
plantation  hands  first  because  they  are  the  most  numer- 
ous body  by  far,  and  contitute  the  physical  force  of  that 
class  in  the  Southern  States.  These  plantation  hands 
are,  for  the  greater  part,  quite  dark  of  complexion  (the 
proportion  of  mixed-blooded  colored  people  being 
infinitely  smaller  than  in  the  cities) ;  they  are  strong 
and  healthy  as  to  their  bodies,  and  industrious  to  a 
fault.     They  have  been  known  to  work,  during  the  busy 


181 

season,  seven  clays  in  the  week,  (though  not  from 
choice),  and  the  rising  sun  seldom  finds  them  in  bed. 
The}'  have  been  accustomed  from  infancy  to  the  plainest 
diet,  such  as  corn  bread,  fat  bacon  or  pork,  cow  peas, 
rice  and  molasses,  together  with  such  fruits  as  could  be 
gathered  from  the  fields  and  woods,  upon  which  they 
have  thriven,  being  strangers  to  many  of  the  evils  that 
alfiict  the  flesh  in  our  luxurious  centers,  and  sometimes 
living  to  ages  far  beyond  the  allotted  span — a  centena- 
rian being  no  curiosity  in  their  midst.  Their  diet, 
however,  is  sometimes  varied  b}T  the  addition  of  a  chicken 
or  opossum,  of  which  they  are  passionately  fond.  This 
passion  on  their  part  for  chicken  and  "'possum'1  arises 
not  so  much  from  any  constitutional  partiality  on  their 
part,  or  difference  in  their  tastes  and  inclinations 
respecting  articles  of  food  from  the  rest  of  the  human 
family,  as  from  the  absence  of  fresh  meat  of  all  kinds, 
the  very  sight  of  which  is  at  times  sufficient  to  excite  a 
whole  neighborhood. 

The  writer  recalls  an  incident  in  the  little  village  of 
Hudsonville,  during  his  sojourn  there,  when,  upon  the 
arrival  of  a  countryman  on  the  Public  Square  with  _a 
small  carcass  of  doubtful  looking  meat,  covered  over 
with  boughs  of  trees  as  a  protection  against  the  attacks 
of  the  large  blue  flies,  which  were  numerous,  the 
mania   on  the  part  of  the  villagers  to  "obtain  a  piece  of 


182 

the  coveted  flesh  was  so  great  that  one  lady,  who  was 
unable  to  get  any,  actually  shed  tears  of  sorrow. 

It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  then,  that  these  people 
are  elated  over  the  possession  of  something  to  vary  the 
monotony  of  their  harsh  and  unpalatable  diet.  "  'Pos- 
sum and  sweet-en-tater  "  reach  the  acme  of  the  planta- 
tion hand's  gustatory  ambition.  Chicken  is  good; 
squirrel,  racoon  and  rabbit  are  good;  roast  pig  is  very 
good ;  but  "  possum  and  sweet-en-tater  "  admit  of  no 
comparison  in  the  imagination  of  the  poor  hungry 
hand. 

"Honey,"  they  will  say,  "  jes'  take  dat 'possum  an' 
strip  off  de  skin ;  hang  him  outdoors  'til  de  fros'  strikes 
him ;  den  bring  him  in  de  house,  put  him  in  de  pot  an' 
parbile  him;  after  dat  stuff  him,  lay  him  in  de  oven,  put 
little  pieces  of  fat  meat  over  him,  an'  lay  sweet-en-taters 
all  roun'  him;  den  let  him  lie  dar  'til  he  gits  rite  brown; 
take  him  out;  put  him  on  de  table!  an'  L-o-d,  h-o-n-e-y! 
DonH  say  dem  greasy  tvords  no  more!'''' 

It's  no  wonder  that,  at  intervals  of  recreation,  they 
will  all  join  in  and  sing  with  great  enthusiasm  that 
remarkable  song,  commencing  with  the  suggestive  lines, 

"  Dat  'possum  meat  am  good  an'  sweet, 
Kearve  him  to  de  hart." 

Among  the  amusements  incidental  to  plantation  life 
the  corn-shucking  and  log-rolling  bees  stand  pre-emi- 
nent.    On  the  former  occasions  the  neighbors  all  turn 


183 

out  and  assist  each  other  in  shucking  their  corn.  In 
this  way  large  quantities  of  corn  are  disposed  of  at  a 
single  gathering,  without  the  monotony  attending  the 
private  performance  of  an  equal  amount  of  labor. 
Whiskey,  which  is  the  product  of  corn  in  that  section, 
is  freely  passed  around  on  such  occasions,  and  is  not 
unfrequently  the  cause  of  illfeoling  and  disturbance. 
After  the  work  is  completed  a  general  good  time  is 
indulged  in,  concluding,  as  a  rule,  with  a  dance  to  the 
notes  of  a  squeaky  fiddle,  in  the  hands  of  one  of  their 
number,  and  the  patting  of  such  others  as  are  unable  to 
restrain  their  flowing  spirits.  But  the  log-rolling  par- 
ties carry  off  the  palm  for  real  vigor  and  romantic  effect. 
At  these  meetings  were  to  be  found  the  vigorous  youths 
of  all  the  surrounding  region,  who  assembled,  like  the 
athletes  of  ancient  Greece  at  the  Olympian  games,  to 
test  their  physical  prowess  and  win  for  themselves  repu- 
tations of  which  they  were  no  less  proud.  These 
contests  occurred  at  a  space  upon  which  lay  the  logs 
chopped  from  trees,  which  had  been  felled  in  the  process 
of  clearing  land.  The  participants  generally  separated 
themselves  into  two  factions,  at  the  head  of  each  was  a 
champion,  and  the  feats  of  strength  and  endurance  were 
as  a  rule  exhibited  in  their  attempts  to  out-vie  each 
other  in  lifting  at  the  bar  placed  under  one  end  of  a  heavy 
log;  when  it  sometimes  happened  that  the  mate  of  the 
successful  party  was  unable  to  raise  his  end  or  endure 


184 

to  bear  it  to  the  pile,  which  covered  him  with  the  dis- 
grace of  defeat,  while  the  other  was  correspondingly 
elated  and  considered  a  wonderful  man.  It  was  very 
amusing  to  hear  the  opposite  champions  challenge  each 
other  from  the  tops  of  their  respective  piles,  using  the 
most  exaggerated  and  ridiculous  expressions  imagi- 
nable. Such  expressions  as  the  following  were  generally 
indulged  in  on  such  occasions,  being  shouted  at  their 
utmost  pitch  of  voice : 

First  champion — "  Oh,  you  can't  rule  me!". 
Second  champion — "You  can't  knock  a  chip  off  my 
shoulder !" 

First  champion — "  I'm  yer  lion  tamer!" 
Second  champion — "  Here's  yer  alligater  eater  !" 
First  champion — "Woman  never  had  me!" 
Second  champion — "  Man,  he  never  got  me !" 
First  champion — "I  come  in  gold  molds!" 
And  thus  they  would  proceed  until,  their  mission 
being  accomplished  they,  like  the  corn-shuckers,  would 
finish  the  night  with  music,  feasting  and  dancing. 

At  times,  however,  the  utmost  good-will  did  not  pre- 
vail to  the  close,  and  fighting  and  bloodshed  would  take 
the  place  of  music  and  feasting,  owing  to  the  too  free 
use  of  strong  drink. 

Efforts  have  been  made  from  time  to  time  by  those 
who  have  been  more  industrious  in  exposing  the  weak- 
nesses of  the  colored  race  than  in  exalting  their  virtues, 


185 

to  impress  the  belief  upon  tlie  popular  mind  that  the 
average  plantation  hand  will  engage  in  little  acts  of 
peculation ;  that  is  to  say,  steal. 

The  writer  has  enjoyed  unusually  favorable  facilities 
of  acquainting  himself  with  every  phase  of  character 
pertaining  to  this  class  of  people,  and  after  careful  ob- 
servation, extending  over  a  long  period  of  time,  he  feels 
authorized  in  repelling  the  accusation  as  a  base  slander 
upon  the  fair  fame  of  one  of  the  most  patient,  indus- 
trious and  honorable  classes  of  people  that  is  to  be  found 
upon  the  American  continent.  It  is  true  the  colored 
people  spoken  of  have  within  their  number  men  who, 
like  their  white  brethren,  will  commit  acts  of  violence 
against  the  property  of  their  neighbors,  sometimes 
indulging  in  peculations  the  very  insignificance  of  which 
are  well  calculated  to  call  down  upon  them  the  scorn  and 
ridicule  of  the  community  in  which  they  reside,  such  as 
the  taking  of  pigs,  chickens,  seed  cotton  and  the  like; 
but  these  acts  are  no  more  frequent  than  may  be  found 
among  some  classes  of  the  white  people  of  both  sections, 
with  this  mitigating  feature — that,  when  the  plantation 
hand  of  the"  South  relieves  a  planter  of  a  fat  pullet,  pig, 
or  even  a  few  pounds  of  seed  cotton,  he  merely  indulges 
his  disposition  to  obtain  a  pittance  of  what  they  have 
robbed  him  and  his  ancestors  of,  and  generally  for  the 
purpose  of  satisfying  the  cravings  of  hunger. 

The  colored  men  of  the  Southern  plantations  have 


186 

made  the  South  what  it  is,  have  produced  four-fifths  of 
the  cotton,  sugar,  rice  and  tobacco  which  for  many  years 
constituted  the  chief  articles  of  commerce,  and  for  all 
this  they  have  received  no  compensation;  they  have  to 
this  day  an  equitable  claim  on  every  foot  of  land, 
every  horse,  cow,  pig  or  chicken  to  be  found  on  Southern 
soil,  owned  by  ex  -slaveholders,  and  for  them  to  occa- 
sionalty  assert  their  right  of  redemption  is  not  steal- 
ing. 

The  colored  people  of  the  cities  and  towns  are  a 
heterogeneous  mass.  They  are  to  be  found  of  all  shades 
of  color  known  among  the  races  of  men — black,  yellow, 
cream  colored,  white,  and  all  the  intermediate  shades 
Some  of  them  boast  that  they  are  of  pure  African 
extraction — not  mongrels;  while  others  rejoice  in  the 
possession  of  a  very  liberal  allowance  of  "  pure  white 
blood,"  and  use  every  means  in  their  power  to  gain 
recognition  by  their  white  brethren.  There  are  those, 
indeed,  who  make  it  their  boast  that  they  have  de- 
scended, on  their  father's  side,  from  some  of  the  first 
white  families  of  the  South,  and  claim  recognition  on 
the  ground  of  consanguinity,  referring  to  the  well- 
known  family  resemblance  as  a  proof  of  the  cor- 
rectness of  their  assertion.  Nor  must  it  be  con- 
cluded, as  is  supposed  by  some,  that  the  fact  of  a 
colored  person  having  his  blood  mixed  is  necessar- 
ily a  proof  of    illegitimacy,   for,  on  the  contrary,  the 


187 

greater  portion  of  the  mixed-blooded  colored  people  of 
the  South  are  the  fruits  of  legitimate  matrimonial 
alliances  formed  among  the  different  shades  of  the  race 
during  the  past  and  present  generations.  Much  refine- 
ment of  manners  and  real  intellectual  culture  is  also 
discernable  among  the  colored  people  who  inhabit  the 
cities  and  towns  of  the  South,  since  they  were  in  times 
past  not  only  more  favored  with  respect  to  opportunities 
of  gaining  information  than  the  poor  plantation  hands, 
but  the  relations  the}-  bore  the  wealthy  whites — as 
domestics  and  servants  in  other  capacities — were  to  them 
a  source  of  great  profit  in  increasing  their  knowledge. 
Besides  this,  the  free  colored  people,  who  were  in  the 
State  of  North  Carolina  permitted  to  acquire  property 
and  send  their  children  to  school,  to  a  limited  extent,  em- 
ulating the  example  of  the  intelligent  white  people,  edu- 
cated their  children  somewhat,collected  libraries  and  read 
such  newspapers  of  the  day  as  they  could  get  possession  of, 
thereby  becoming,  in  some  instances,  the  equals  and  even 
superiors  of  many  of  the  white  citizens.  Being  great 
imitators  and  thoroughly  Americanized  in  their  ideas 
and  ambitions,  they  vied  with  the  more  wealthy  portion 
of  society  in  clothing  themselves  in  the  latest  styles 
and  furnishing  their  houses  with  modern  improvements. 
The  barbers  of  the  South  were  also  a  prolific  source  of 
information  to  the  rest  of  colored  society;  since,  by  vir- 
tue of  their  calling,  they  were  brought  into  the  presence 


188 

of  the  leading  statesmen,  lawyers  and  politicians  of  that 
section,  who  frequently  did  not  hesitate  to  discuss 
questions  of  State  and  National  polity  in  their  pres- 
ence. 

The  mechanics,  as  well  as  the  domestics  of  the  South, 
were  also  composed  of  this  class  of  people;  in  fact,  the 
colored  people  were  the  intimate  attendants  and  supports 
of  the  property-holding  element  in  every  department  of 
life.  They  were  indispensable  at  the  birth,  depended 
upon  at  the  wedding,  and  in  the  hour  of  death  the 
prayers  and  groans  of  some  trusted  "Aunty"  or 
"Uncle"  furnished  a  safe  escort  for  them  to  "that 
bourne  from  which  no  traveler  returns." 

In  some  cities,  during  the  slave-holding  era,  there 
were  no  distinct  churches  for  the  colored  people,  and 
they  were  provided  for  in  the  galleries  of  the  various 
white  congregations,  where  the  pious  eye  of  the  master 
could  note  their  movements. 

The  writer  attended  one  of  these  churches  during  the 
first  Sabbath  of  his  sojourn  in  Hudsonville,  to  acommo- 
date  a  friend,  but  the  visit  was  not  repeated.  The 
entrance  in  this  instance  was  made  at  the  rear  end  of  the 
structure,  and  after  being  seated  in  the  filthy  gallery,  we 
were  denied  even  a  glance  from  the  preacher's  eyes. 

In  the  large  cities,  however,  the  colored  people  are 
provided  with  churches  and  ministers  of  their  own  selec- 
tion, where  they  worship  God  according  to  the  dictates 


189 

of  their  own  consciences ;  this  is  especially  true  of  them 
since  the  war. 

I  regret  to  say  that  on  various  and  sundry  occasions 
in  the  past,  short-sighted  men  of  the  demagogue  stamp, 
for  the  satisfaction  of  their  own  personal  ambition, 
have  endeavored  to  create  a  feeling  of  prejudice  on  the 
part  of  the  dark  against  the  light-colored  people 
in  some  parts  of  the  South,  by  representing  to  them  that 
their  interests  were  of  a  conflicting  nature,  and  endeav- 
oring to  lead  innocent  persons  of  a  darker  hue  to 
believe  that  their  light-colored  brethren  were  aspiring 
to  monopolize  all  the  chief  places  of  honor  and  emolu- 
ment. Be  it  said  to  the  honor  of  the  masses  of  the  dark- 
colored  people  of  the  Sfmth,  that  their  good  judgment 
has  restrained  them  from  falling  in  with  these  wicked 
men  in  their  dangerous  designs,  and  led  them  to  ignore 
all  such  propositions  made  to  them. 

Before  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  South  there  was 
an  element  of  society  to  be  found  there  which  has  since 
lost  its  identity  by  being  absorbed  or  merged  into 
the  one  general  class  recognized  as  the  colored  people  of 
the  South.  I  refer  to  the  body  known  before  the  war  as 
"free  negroes,"  or  in  their  vernacular,  "free  niggers." 
This  was  the  most  hopelessly  forlorn  class,  in  some 
respects,  of  any  we  have  mentioned,  if  a  people  hated 
and  despised,  slighted  and  scorned,  neglected  and 
abused,     may     be     referred     to     as      being    forlorn, 


190 

for  the  foregoing  adjectives  but  faintly  describe  their 
unenviable  condition  in  that  inhospitable  Southern 
land.  These  people  were  of  all  colors,  sexes  and  condi- 
tions, and  their  origin  was  various.  It  was  a  maxim  of 
the  common  law,  which  was  strictly  adhered  to  in  nearly 
all  the  slaveholding  states,  that  the  condition  of  the  off- 
spring followed  that  of  the  mother;  hence,  in  all  cases 
where  the  condition  of  the  mother  was  that  of  a  free 
woman  the  offspring  was  born  free;  it  mattered  not  how 
her  freedom  was  obtained,  provided  it  was  in  accordance 
with  the  provisions  of  the  law.  If  a  woman  of  "  pure 
white  blood"  cohabited  with  a  person  having  a  "visible 
admixture  of  African  blood,"  the  offspring  resulting  from 
that  union  was  born  and  remained  free,  because  the 
mother,  being  a  white  person,  was,  ipso  facto,  free  in 
the  South,  and  the  condition  of  her  child  followed  that 
of  herself;  and,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  such  unions  were 
not  unknown,  even  in  the  palmiest  days  of  the  "  peculiar 
institution,"  nor,  indeed,  were  they  sufficiently  rare  of 
occurrence  to  attract  especial  interest  or  occasion 
unusual  remark. 

The  writer  is  conversant  with  a  case  where  a  planta- 
tion hand,  of  the  darkest  hue  and  most  uncouth 
appearance  begat  offspring  by  each  of  the  two  daughters 
of  his  master;  and  these  two  mulatto  children,  being 
children  of  one  father  and  of  sisters,  were  thereby  half 
sisters  and  cousins  (a  very  strange  relationship),  were 


191 

reared  under  the  same  roof  as  the  rest  of  the  family — 
living  to  be  almost  centenarians,  and  to  look  back  upon 
a  numerous  progeny  of  free  colored  people. 

In  other  instances,  good  and  faithful  maidservants, 
who  had  given  the  better  portion  of  their  life  in  the 
service  of  their  owners,  rendering  services  of  peculiar 
merit — such,  for  instance,  as  rearing  a  family  of  children 
from  infancy  to  years  of  discretion,  and  nursing  the 
sick — were  manumitted,  together  with  their  children, 
who,  with  their  progeny,  thereafter  were  free.  And 
some  who  were  so  fortunate  as  to  be  married  to  free 
men,  who  were  of  industrious,  frugal  and  ambitious 
dispositions,  were  purchased  by  their  husbands,  which 
made  them  and  their  children,  born  thereafter,  free. 

In  the  foregoing,  and  other  ways,  which  we  will  not 
now  weary  the  patience  of  the  reader  by  relating,  a  very 
numerous  population  of  free  colored  people  came  into 
existence,  and  remained  up  to  the  era  of  general  emanci- 
pation in  the  South.  Having  a  visible  admixture  of 
African  blood  in  their  veins,  the}r  were  of  course  rele- 
gated to  the  same  social  status  as  the  slaves,  except 
that  of  bondage.  They  were  ignored  by  the  whites  as 
associates,  however  intelligent  or  refined  they  might  be; 
and  although  in  a  few  instances  (very  rare)  slight  modifi- 
cations of  this  rigid  rule  took  place,  still  the  writer  has 
yet  to  be  informed  of  a  case  where  it  was  wholly  abolished. 

They  inhabited   commercial   centers  chiefly  for  the 


192 

reason  that  being,  as  a  rule,  not  the  owners  of  land  for 
agricultural  purposes,  they  resorted  to  mechanical  pur- 
suits for  a  livelihood;  in  which  they  became  expert  as 
time  progressed,  and  furnished  the  architectural  skill  of 
that  whole  section  in  the  constructing  of  buildings  and 
bridges  of  various  kinds,  and  even  some  of  the  fleetest 
ships  that  ploughed  the  waters.  Another  reason  that 
may  be  assigned  for  their  tendency  towards  cities  and 
towns  is  the  fact  that  they  were  the  objects  of  suspicion 
and  distrust  in  the  rural  districts  on  the  part  of  the 
slaveholders,  who  feared  that  their  proximity  to  and 
association  with  their  slaves  would  contaminate  them 
(the  slaves),  by  creating  in  their  minds  a  feeling  of 
jealousy  and  restlessness  under  their  oppressed  condi- 
tion. 

Being  deprived  of  the  right  of  sitting  on  juries  and 
giving  their  sworn  testimony  in  all  litigation  where  their 
interests  conflicted  with  those  of  white  men,  they  were 
at  the  mercy  of  the  most  unprincipled  rogues  and  liber- 
tines; and  unless  they  secured  the  friendly  aid  of  some 
white  guardian  or  patron,  they  were  liable  not  only  to  be 
robbed  of  their  hard-earned  possessions  and  deprived  of 
life  and  liberty  by  means  of  the  perjured  statements  of 
covetous  persons  of  the  other  race,  but  in  many 
instances  the  most  outrageous  and  infamous  crimes, 
which  shock  every  fibre  in  the  body  of  a  real  man,  were 
perpetrated    upon   helpless   females,    when   no   redress 


193 

could  be  had,  the  only  witnesses  to  them  being  persons 
of  color. 

In  some  sections  of  the  South  these  poor  people  were 
compelled  to  purchase  badges  at  fabulous  rates  and 
wear  them,  in  order  to  distinguish  themselves  from  their 
slave  brethren ;  and  although  they,  in  this  way  and  by 
paying  a  direct  poll-tax,  as  well  as  the  usual  tax  on 
their  meagre  possessions,  were  constantly  enriching  the 
public  treasury,  yet  thej7  were  not  permitted  to  vote  for 
their  representatives,  being  in  this  respect  in  a  worse 
condition  than  the  Indians,  who  pay  no  taxes. 

In  times  of  public  alarm  these  free  colored  people 
were  objects  upon  which  the  lower  class  of  the  white 
element  of  the  South  vented  their  spite,  since  they  were 
entirely  defenseless,  being  forbidden  by  law  to  carry  fire- 
arms, or  even  to  keep  them  within  their  dwellings,  and, 
as  we  have  remarked,  had  little  or  no  redress  at  law. 
This  was  especially  true  of  them  at  a  time  when  a  real 
or  imaginary  revolt  of  the  slaves  was  threatened.  The 
writer  will  never  forget  a  reign  of  terror  that  was  inau- 

urated  and  maintained  during  the  Fremont-Buchanan 
campaign  of  1856.     The  impression  had  in  some  mys- 

irious  manner  become  prevalent  amongst  the  slaves 
that  if  Fremont  was  elected  President  of  the  United 
.  tates  their  freedom  would  be  assured.  Where  this  idea 
came  from  or  how  it  gained  currency  amongst  them, 
nobody  knew;  but  it  existed,  nevertheless,  and  created 


194 

in  the  minds  of  the  more  cautious  of  the  slave-holders 
an  apprehension  that  in  the  event  of  a  failure  on  the 
part  of  the  slaves  to  realize  their  expectations,  acts  of 
violence  might  be  indulged  in  by  them.  Laboring  under 
this  mental  delusion,  and  being  filled  with  such  a  degree 
of  cowardice  as  their  guilty  actions  naturally  begat  in 
them,  they  organized  bodies  of  midnight  marauders, 
known  as  patrols,  who,  during  the  night  season,  scoured 
the  suburbs  of  the  ancient  town  in  which  we  lived, 
striking  terror  to  the  hearts  of  the  defenseless  free  col- 
ored people,  who  had  not  even  masters  to  protect  them, 
and  in  many  instances  committing  depredations  that 
even  a  savage  would  blush  to  acknowledge. 

We  almost  shudder  to  recall  an  eventful  night  when 
an  ominous  knock  was  heard  upon  the  door  of  our 
humble  cot.  We  were  all  alone.  Mother  was  a  poor 
widow,  her  fatherless  children  were  all  quite  young, 
the  eldest  not  yet  having  reached  puberty.  We  made 
no  response.  Again  that  harsh  knock  rang  upon  the 
midnight  air,  causing  our  hearts  to  beat  almost  audibly 
within  our  breasts.  Not  yet  did  we  deign  a  response. 
Then  there  fell  upon  our  ears  a  harsh,  cruel  voice: 
"  Open  this  door,  G — d  d — n  you!  or  we'll  bust  it  in!" 

"John,"  said  our  clear  mother,  "  get  up  and  see  what 
they  want.  I  guess  they  are  the  patrols."  Then,  ad- 
dressing herself  to  the  marauders,  she  said:  "All  right; 


195 

wait  a  minute  until  we  make  a  light,  and  we'll  let  you 
in." 

A  match  was  struck;  an  old-fashioned  tallow  dip 
was  lit,  and  then  the  writer,  clothed  in  his  robe  de  nuit, 
with  fear  and  trembling,  drew  the  bar.  A  half  dozen 
uncouth,  desperate-looking  characters  invaded  the  prem- 
ises, accompanied  by  one  or  two  men  who  laid  claim  to 
some  degree  of  respectability,  and  who,  upon  discovering 
that  the}7  were  only  disgracing  themselves  by  trespass- 
ing upon  the  premises  of  a  lonely  widow  and  her  little 
brood,  were  lavish  of  their  apologies  and  vacated  with- 
out delay.  The  remainder,  after  passing  through  the 
house  and  glancing  curiously  at  every  object  that 
confronted  them,  failed  to  find  anything  that  could  be 
construed  into  a  firearm,  and  left,  to  return  no  more. 

Our  neighbors,  however,  were  less  fortunate,  for  it 
happened  that  an  old  fowling-piece,  a  relic  of  the  past, 
was  discovered  upon  their  premises,  which  was  the 
direct  cause  of  procuring  for  its  unfortunate  owner 
thirty-nine  lashes  upon  his  naked  back,  from  a  cow-hide 
in  the  hands  of  one  of  that  infernal  clan.  Nor  was  that 
all,  for,  not  being  satisfied  with  flogging  the  husband, 
they  essayed  to  insult  the  wife,  and  when  she  resisted 
and  attempted  to  resent  the  insult,  they  assaulted  her  in 
a  most  outrageous  manner. 

For  a  colored  man  to  assault  a  white  man  in  those 
days  was  to   commit  an  unpardonable  offense,  which 


196 

blood  alone  could  atone  for — it  mattered  not  how  great 
soever  the  provocation  might  be,  or  how  just  the  colored 
man's  cause.  We  distinctly  remember  an  incident  that 
took  place  in  the  State  of  North  Carolina  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  }'ear  1856,  when  the  writer  was  a  boy,  that 
made  a  lasting  impression  upon  his  mind  and  caused 
him  to  remark  to  his  kind  mother  that  if  she  did  not 
sell  her  home  and  leave  the  South,  he  would  leave  just 
as  soon  as  his  age  and  means  would  admit  of  it.  The 
incident  was  as  follows : 

A  large,  muscular  man,  having  a  very  slight  admix- 
ture of  African  blood  in  his  veins,  drove  into  the  town 

of  with  a  load  of  small  casks  or  kegs  which  he 

had  made  to  barter  away  for  a  few  groceries.  He  went 
to  one  of  the  leading  merchants  of  the  place  and  offered 
his  kegs  for  sale,  and  a  trade  was  readily  effected ;  but 
during  during  the  course  of  the  conversation  that 
ensued,  the  capacity  of  the  kegs  being  called  in  question, 
a  dispute  arose  between  the  merchant  and  the  country- 
man, when  the  former  stigmatized  the  latter  as  a  liar; 
the  rustic  retorted  by  hurling  the  same  epithet  at  the 
grocer,  when  the  latter  struck  the  customer  a  violent 
blow  in  the  face  with  his  fist,  who  had  no  sooner  received 
it  than  he  returned  it  with  interest,  felling  the  merchant 
to  the  floor.  Immediately  the  cry  went  around:  "A 
nigger  has  struck  a  white  man;  kill  him!  kill  the  d — n 
nigger!"  and  a  crowd  such  as  were  in  those  days  always 


197 

to  be  found  loitering  around  stores  and  wharves  in  that 
section,  without  further  inquiry  fell  upon  the  countryman 
and  attempted  to  knock  him  down.  He  was  equal  to  the 
emergency,  however,  and  had  he  enjoyed  even  the  sem- 
blance of  fair  play,  would  have  succeeded  in  whipping 
all  his  assailants;  but  finally,  when  it  became  apparent 
that  he  was  getting  the  better  of  the  cowardly  crew,  a 
sailor  in  their  midst  drew  a  bar  of  iron,  and  striking 
him  a  blow  on  the  head  with  it,  felled  him  to  the  ground. 
Once  in  that  position  his  clothing  was  torn  from  his 
body,  his  arms  and  legs  pinioned,  and  his  bare  back 
flogged  with  a  "cowhide"  until  the  blood  ran  from  it, 
and  the  gashes  made  in  his  flesh  by  the  cruel  strokes 
presented  a  ghastly  spectacle  as  they  gaped  open.  For 
this  colored  man  there  was  no  redress;  indeed,  he  was 
only  too  glad  to  escape  with  his  life,  and  drag  back 
again  his  mangled,  bleeding  body  to  the  heart-broken 
wife  and  grief-stricken  children  from  whom  he  had 
parted  a  few  hours  previous  with  hopes  beating  high. 

The  writer  labors  under  the  embarrassment  derived 
from  the  fear  that  there  may  be  those  who  will  read 
these  recitals  of  oppression  and  injury  inflicted  upon  the 
colored  people  of  the  South  with  incredulity,  and  imagine 
them  to  be  the  productions  of  a  dishonest  imagination. 
If  such  should  be  the  case,  the  reader  has  only  to  refer 
the  matter  to  any  one  of  the  thousands  of  well-informed 


198 

colored  citizens  who  are  to  be  found  in  all  our  cities 
and  towns  of  the  North  for  a  verification,  ndt  only  by 
their  verbal  testimony,  but  by  their  scarred  and  crippled 
bodies  that  are  yet  to  be  seen.  The  half  has  not  been 
told. 

What  the  colored  people  of  the  South  need  at  the 
present  time  to  raise  them  up  to  an  equal  plain  with  the 
better  class  of  the  white  people  there  is  a  fair  opportu- 
nity in  the  race  of  life  to  earn  and  accumulate  money, 
and  good  educational  facilities  for  their  children. 

Thanks  to  the  large-heartedness  of  the  people  of  the 
North,  there  are  in  some  sections  of  that  benighted 
land  a  few  educational  institutions  that  will  compare 
favorably  with  some  of  the  best  in  the  land;  where 
young  men  and  women  of  color  are  fast  preparing  them- 
selves to  enter  the  higher  walks  of  life.  Of  such  are 
Fisk  University  and  Hampton  Institute,  to  say  nothing 
of  many  others  less  pretentious. 

The  law  of  the  land  can  do  so  much  for  us  as  to 
remove  all  obstructions  from  our  way  that  are  obnox- 
ious to  its  provisions;  but  no  more.  It  can  not  take 
us  from  under  the  ban  of  prejudice  any  more  than  it 
can  the  pauper  of  another  race. 

Our  destiny  lies  to  a  very  great  extent  in  our 
own  hands,  and  the  quicker  we  recognize  that  fact  the 
more    rapid     will    be    our    progress    upward.      If    the 


199 

recognition  and  preferment  of  races  of  other  people  is 
governed  by  their  wealth,  intelligence  and  integrity,  by 
these  same  means,  and  these  alone,  must  we  seek 
and  expect  to  win  success  in  life;  and  not  by  a  state 
of  inertia,  or  a  period  spent  in  bewailing  our  unfortu- 
nate lot.     "A  word  to  the  wise  is  sufficient." 


CONCLUSION. 


Past  and  Present  of  "Magnolia." — Sherman's  Boys  and  Har- 
dee.— "  No  Law  to  Compel  One  Man  to  '  Mister '  Another." — The 
Results  of  the  Trip. — Returning  North. 


We  must  now  hasten  to  a  conclusion  of  our  narrative, 
since  we  have  already  occupied  more  time  and  space 
in  relating  it  than  we  anticipated  at  the  beginning. 
Suffice  it  to  say,  then,  that  the  town  of  Magnolia,  while 
possessing  a  greater  population  than  Hudsonville  and 
wearing  somewhat  of  a  metropolitan  appearance,  did  not 
fully  meet  our  expectations.  Even  to  Jones  and  Brown, 
our  companions  of  the  route,  who  had  resided  there  in 
former  times  during  its  prosperity,  scarcely  recognized 
in  its  charred  and  dilapidated  appearance  the  Magnolia 
of  the  past,  when  business  was  flourishing  and  there  was 
abundance  of  labor  with  fair  remuneration  for  all,  except 
those  who  were  enslaved.  Instead  of  scores  of  drays 
and  carts  being  employed  in  hauling  the  large  deposits 
of  merchandise  to  and  fro  from  the  steamboat  landing; 
now  half  a  dozen  vehicles  could  scarcely  find  employ- 
ment; where  formerly  a  numerous  body  of  mechanics 
were  wont  to  reside  in  the  midst  of  a  plentiful  supply  of 
all  the  necessaries  of  life,  we  at  length   found  only  a 


201 

tithe  of  them,  striving  to  eke  out  an  existence  by  the 
performance  of  such  odd  jobs  as  could  be  found  in  a 
place  where  the  erection  of  substantial  buildings  gave 
place  to  a  few  repairs  to  such  as  were  alreach*  in 
existence  to  keep  them  in  suitable  condition  for  use, 
and  the  banks  that  once  flourished  there  for  the  accom- 
modation of  a  healthy  trade,  were  to  be  found  no  more, 
but  in  their  stead  one  petty  institution.  In  fact,  decay 
and  blight  seemed  to  have  seized  upon  all  things.  The 
people  who  inhabited  the  place  appeared  to  be  discour- 
aged and  lost  to  all  ambition,  even  to  repair  the  sad 
ravages  that  the  events  of  the  war  had  entailed. 

Formerly  this  place  was  the  seat  of  learning,  refine- 
ment and  wealth  for  all  that  section  of  the  great  State 
of  North  Carolina,  and  the  unsophisticated  rustic  of  the 
interior  who  had  the  ambition  to  make  it  a  visit,  opened 
his  eyes  in  astonishment  as  he  gazed  at  the  exterior  of 
the  capacious  buildings  to  be  found  there,  and  the  riches 
as  displayed  in  the  show-windows  and  on  the  streets;  in 
short,  it  was  the  commercial  center  from  which  all  the 
country  around,  within  a  radius  of  a  hundred  miles, 
drew  its  supplies,  and  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  before 
the  war  to  see  her  streets  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Court 
and  Market  House,  crowded  with  the  vehicles  of 
planters  and  small  farmers,  who  had  traveled  many 
miles  to  visit  this  emporium  for  the  purpose  of  purchas- 
ing or  exchanging  wares. 


202 

But  now  all  this  was  reversed,  and,  instead,  gloom  and 
despondency  seemed  to  brood  over  the  forsaken  place. 
The  inhabitants  remaining  were  not  slow  in  attributing 
all  their  losses  and  misfortunes  to  the  "  Yankees,"  and 
pointed  to  the  charred  remains  of  their  former  bank 
buildings  and  store-houses,  which  were  destroyed  dur- 
ing Sherman's  grand  march  to  the  sea,  as  a  proof  of 
the  correctness  of  their  statements,  but  they  seemed  to 
lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  their  own '  obstinacy  in  en- 
deavoring to  impede  his  progress,  even  up  to  the  last 
moment,  occasioned  the  greater  portion  of  the  damage 
that  had  accrued. 

It  is  related  that  one  of  the  typical  Southern  ladies  of 
that  time,  full  of  reliance  on  the  superior  fighting  quali- 
ties of  the  Southern  chivalry,  when  told  that  Sherman 
was  approaching  the  town,  said :  "  O,  never  mind, 
General  Har-dee  is  here,  and  he  won't  let  them  enter." 
Alas  for  her  confidence  and  reliance  upon  the  superior 
skill  and  chivalric  bearing  of  "Hardee  and  his  troops!" 
Instead  of  emulating  the  example  of  the  gallant  three 
hundred  under  Leonidas  at  Thermopylae,  and  dying  in 
the  "  last  ditch,"  they  at  the  last  moment  ingloriously 
fled,  being  in  some  instances  wounded  in  the  back,  and 
not  a  few  of  them  captured. 

Among  the  wealthy  class  of  the  white  people  to  be 
found  at  this  place  were  some  who  for  their  general  in- 
telligence and  magnaminity  of  character  are  deserving  of 


203 

great  praise.  This  is  especially  true  of  a  few  of  the 
weaker  portion  of  the  community,  who  were  veritable 
ministering  angels  at  the  bedside  of  many  a  poor  unfor- 
tunate sufferer  in  their  midst,  for  which  future  genera- 
tions will  render  them  their  full  mead  of  praise;  but  as 
a  rule  they  were  very  exclusive  in  their  habits,  and  dis- 
dained to  mingle  on  terms  of  intercourse  with  those 
whom  they  considered  their  inferiors — their  standards 
of  distinction  being  color,  money  and  intelligence. 
Some  of  the  male  portion  carried  their  silly  prejudice 
to  such  an  extent  that  they  would  even  refuse  to 
address  a  colored  man  as  Mister,  calling  him  Tom, 
Dick,  Harry  or  boy,  as  the  case  might  demand, 
regardless  of  the  merits  or  demerits  of  the  person 
addressed,  or  his  station  in  life.  The  following  anec- 
dote will  go  far  to  show  the  extent  to  which  the 
business  men  of  the  place  permitted  this  silly  bias 
to  carry  them.  A  very  respectable  colored  man,  of 
average  intelligence,  was  elected  to  the  honorable  posi- 
tion of  alderman  of  the  town,  and  he  very  reasonably 
concluded  that  he  was  entitled  to  the  ordinary  and  usual 
courtesies  that  ought  to  be  observed  on  the  part  of  one 
citizen  to  another;  therefore,  when  he  was  addressed  b}r 
a  merchant  of  the  town  as  Thomas,  it  is  not  to  be  won- 
dered at  that  he  reminded  him  that  he  had  a  "handle" 
to  his  name,  and  that  handle  was  the  word  Mister.  <;The 
result  of  this  action  on  the  part  of  the  "  city  fatter  " 


204 

was  an  invitation  extended  to  him  by  the  merchant  to 
leave  bis  store,  which  invitation  not  being  immediately 
complied  with,  the  porter  was  ordered  to  summarily 
eject  the  alderman,  which  he  did  in  a  manner  more 
forcible  than  polite.  An  action  in  the  nature  of  as- 
sault and  battery  against  the  aggressors  was  the  next 
scene  in  this  strange  drama,  in  which  the  defendants 
were  acquitted,  and  the  complainant  was  not  only  lec- 
tured by  the  partial  justice  for  not  leaving  the  premises 
of  the  merchant  when  ordered  by  him  to  do  so  (albeit 
he  had  gone  there  on  business,  which  had  not  been 
transacted),  but  was  also  reminded  that  there  was  no 
law  in  the  State  of  North  Carolina,  known  to  the  court, 
by  virtue  of  which  one  man  could  be  compelled  "to 
mister  another." 

We  found  an  extensive,  well-regulated  society  of  col- 
ored people  here,  together  with  churches  and  schools 
managed  by  them,  that  were  a  credit  alike  to  them  and 
the  State  in  which  they  resided,  but  the  increased  cost 
of  living  in  a  manner  suitable  to  our  requirements,  to- 
gether with  the  almost  total  absence  of  remunerative 
emplo3Tment,  prevented  us  from  selecting  Magnolia  as  a 
home.  Besides  this,  we  had  breathed  the  pure  atmos- 
phere of  the  free  North  for  so  long  a  time  that  the 
prejudices  and  customs  peculiar  to  that  locality  could 
illy  be  brooked  by  us ;  we  therefore  concluded  to  return  to 
Hudsonville  by  the  nearest  route,  pack  our  carpet-bags, 


205 

and  turn  our  steps  Northward,  where  the  invigorating 
breezes  of  our  mountains  and  lakes  impart  new  life,  and 
inspire  one  with  hopes  and  ambitions  sueh  as  go  far 
towards  establishing  true  manhood:  and  where  the  laws 
and  customs  in  vogue  do  not  necessarily  militate 
against  one  on  account  of  his  race  and  color,  but  everjT 
man  is  known  and  honored  for  what  he  is,  judged  by 
the  standard  of  morality  and  qualification. 


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